6
Shiny Side
UP !
AVOIDING LOSS OF CONTROL
GOOSE :
“ No . No , Mav , this is not a good idea .”
MAVERICK :
“ Sorry Goose , but it ’ s time to buzz the tower .” by Susan K . Parson , FAA Safety Briefing Magazine Editor
Ever been tempted to do something “ daring ” ( read : “ stupid ”) in an airplane ? If so , a little voice in your head , much like the Mother Goose character in the original “ Top Gun ” movie , may have guessed what you were thinking and urgently issued a “ don ’ t do it !” warning . A wise pilot would have listened and stood down . A wise guy pilot like the Maverick character would brush off the warning and barrel ahead , risking a lot more damage than the tower chief ’ s spilled coffee .
Impromptu stunts ( aka “ stupid pilot tricks ”) are among the ways that some pilots find themselves in a loss of control ( LOC ) situation during phases of flight that should carry less risk . If you are among the many pilots who shun such behavior , great . But you can still be at risk , because a far more common way to lose control in cruise flight is continued VFR into IMC .
E3AVIATION . COM