Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT)

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Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT)
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Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT)

• Causes of CFIT need to be understood by
  instructors and explained to students.
• The FAA has found four discrete CFIT concerns
  which affect gliding operations.
• Failure to maintain situational awareness.
• Landouts Ridge flights.
• Failure to avoid distractions.
• Traffic pattern issues leading to failure to make
  a safe landing on the airport.

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Maintaining Situational Awareness

• As it relates to operating a glider, situational
  awareness elements include
• Maintaining awareness of height/position required
  to reach a safe landing area.
• Keeping a mental picture of the location of other
  traffic.
• Maintaining awareness of physical obstructions
  such as wake turbulence, lee turbulence,
  potential for windshear etc.
• Keeping a safe angle (especially when in the
  traffic pattern).

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Maintaining Situational Awareness

• Failure to maintain situational awareness
  typically involves
• Uncertainty of position.
• Loss of awareness of parameters necessary for
  continued safe flight.
• Impaired physical and/or mental ability to plan
  ahead, or follow the existing plan, prejudicing a
  safe conclusion of the flight.

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Landouts

• From an instructing standpoint, teaching landouts
  is a requirement of the Practical Test Standards
  (Emergency Operations Area, Off-airport Landing
  Task) and is one of the requirements for initial
  student solo (FAR61.87(i)(19).

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Landouts

• The common feature in dealing successfully with
  landouts is the requirement to plan ahead.
• The more time and height available, the more
  effective the planning is likely to be.
• Aiming/reference point technique for decision
  making allows an early decision whether the
  glider is likely to make it to its intended
  destination.
• If that appears unlikely, the pilot should focus
  primarily on planning for the landout.
• Detailed landout procedures can be found on the
  SSF webpage (www.soaringsafety.org) - On-Line
  Learning button - see the Master Instructor
  Cross-Country Program, details are set out in
  Section 2 of the Cross-Country Handbook.

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Ridge Flights

• Ridge flights typically run into CFIT issues from
  failure to maintain safe margins -
• - distance.
• - airspeed.
• - failure to avoid turbulence, especially lee
  turbulence.
• Additionally, it is essential to -
• - turn in the correct direction.
• - pass on the correct side.
• Lastly, the possibility of changing conditions
  requires always knowing where escape routes are,
  and using them while time still remains.

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Avoiding Distractions

• Distractions cause pilots to focus on
  non-essential issues to the detriment of safely
  flying the glider.
• Distraction is a common problem have you ever
  missed an item on a checklist?
• Why was that?
• The primary solution is to have an understanding
  or awareness of the problem pay better
  attention and focus on what is important/essential
  and apply personal discipline to avoid
  interruption.

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Avoiding Distractions

• In situations of imminent danger, the primary
  remedy is usually to fly the glider it may
  even be helpful for the pilot to repeat to
  him/herself fly the glider.
• Doing so may avoid potentially dangerous actions
  like grabbing for an open canopy during the early
  stages of the tow, to the detriment of properly
  controlling the glider.

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Avoiding Distractions

• Lastly, where time is a premium, with risk of
  pilot overload, it may be useful to first deal
  with the problem by rote, or as a drill.
• An example would be a low level rope break
• Fly the glider (regain/maintain a safe airspeed).
• Pull the release (get rid of hazardous rope)
• Check height and position (with insufficient
  information, the pilot cant make rational
  decisions about what to do next).
• Decide safe course of action.

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Complacency CFIT

• Complacency is often found in high-experience
  pilots and instructors who have had many prior
  successful flights without serious trouble.
• Complacency erodes situational awareness.
• Complacency delays problem recognition.

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Replacing Complacency With Situational Awareness

• Train your students to continually assess
• how the flight is going
• what they want to have happen in the future
• what they should do to make the desired future
  become reality
• Train your students to extend their time horizon,
  as follows

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Extending The Time Horizon Questions To Ask

• Where do you want to be two minutes from now?
• What are you doing to get yourself there?
• Where do you want to be five minutes from now?
• What are you doing to get yourself there?
• And so on!

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CFIT The Traffic Pattern

• Look at the statistics again -
• Year 05 06 07
• Total (100) 33 35 44
• Takeoff/tow 3/9 7/20
  8/18
• Free-Flight 5/15 5/14 5/11
• Ground/Unknown 5/15 0/0 2/5
• Landing/Go around 20/61 23/66 29/66
• The focus needs to be on CFIT in the pattern!

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CFIT in the Traffic Pattern

• Takeoffs, landings and low altitude maneuvering
  are a FIRC core topic.
• Recalling the accident statistics, in 2005, only
  9 of total were in the takeoff/tow phase 61
  were in the landing phase.
• Relative emphasis needs to be on landing, but
  continued issues on self-launch sailplanes
• - adequate monitoring of takeoff power
• - identification of potential obstructions
• - low climb rate/angle in some makes/models
• - field length and density altitude issues are
  priorities.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Turning to reducing the 60 landing accident
  statistic -
• How do you teach your student to make it to the
  runway and not be a land-short statistic?
• Turn left at the red barn?
• Check the altimeter to ensure there is enough
  height?
• Make him learn TLAR That Looks About Right

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CFIT in Pattern

• How does TLAR work on what principle is it
  based?
• How is it applied?
• Choosing an angle which is safe means the glider
  has sufficient energy to safely complete the
  pattern, absent catastrophic sink.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Do you find it easy to judge a straight line
  distance say 1,000 feet?
• Do you find it easy to judge an angle say 30
  degrees?
• Can you easily perceive when an angle changes?
• Can the ability to see instantly an angle which
  is changing help us as pilots?

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CFIT in Pattern

• The dip angle is the Angle between (1) an
  imaginary line drawn from the pilots eye to a
  chosen point on the surface and (2) an imaginary
  horizontal line drawn from the same chosen point
  on the surface to the point on the surface which
  is directly below the glider.
• The prime example for flying the pattern is the
  dip Angle to the aiming, or Reference, point on
  the ground for example, the numbers at the end
  of the runway where the pilot will look on
  final approach.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Lets look and see how the Angle changes as the
  glider flies downwind, parallel to the runway,
  assuming still air no lift or sink.
• If the glider maintained height on downwind, the
  Angle would increase as the glider gets closer to
  the Reference Point.
• But the glider is descending, and the descent
  cancels out the increase.
• So, as the glider flies downwind parallel to the
  runway, the ANGLE REMAINS CONSTANT.

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CFIT in Pattern

• How can this information be applied to avoid CFIT
  in the pattern failing to make it to the
  Reference Point and landing/crashing short?
• As the glider is flying back toward the field,
  pick a safe Angle.
• The Angle will be less steep in a higher
  performance glider e.g. a Grob G 103, than it
  would be in a lower performance glider like a
  2-33.
• The Angle should be steeper if the wind is
  stronger.

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CFIT in Pattern

• To conform with other traffic and give
  predictability, the Angle can be picked up at the
  Initial Point.
• BUT THIS IS NOT ESSENTIAL the Safe Relationship
  implied by selecting and maintaining a safe Angle
  can begin anywhere.

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CFIT in Pattern

• From the Initial Point, fly downwind at best
  speed-to-fly, parallel with the runway. If there
  is no lift or sink, the Angle will stay constant.
• If the Angle starts to change, make a corrective
  heading change.
• if the Angle starts to get flatter (sink), turn
  in slightly towards the runway until the Angle
  gets back to a safe value, then fly parallel
  again.
• If the Angle starts to get steeper (lift), turn
  slightly out/away from the runway until the Angle
  gets back to the correct value, then fly parallel
  again.
• BE FLEXIBLE be prepared to change heading to
  keep the angle constant.

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CFIT in Pattern

• When the glider continues straight downwind and
  passes abeam the Reference Point, what happens?
• 1. The instructor gets the leans.
• Why? Because the Angle is getting rapidly
  flatter, and the instructor feels increasingly
  uncomfortable as a result.
• 2. In most 2-place gliders, the wing nearer the
  field obscures the view of the Reference Point.

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CFIT in Pattern

• How do we avoid the leans and losing sight of
  the Reference point?
• Once the glider has passed abeam the Reference
  Point, turn gently towards the extended center
  line of the chosen runway, continuing to maintain
  the Angle.

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CFIT in Pattern

• As the glider continues to turn and reaches the
  base leg (90 degrees to the line of final
  approach), the Angle will start to increase.
• The sight of the Angle starting to increase is
  the signal that, absent encountering catastrophic
  sink, the glider really has sufficient energy to
  make it to the field and make good the Reference
  Point.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Some comments
• When abeam the Reference point going downwind,
  make a final check (LAST)
• LOOKOUT no conflicting traffic
• ANGLE remains safe
• SPEED increase to minimum safe approach speed
  required on final for the prevailing conditions
  (should have been calculated as part of the
  pre-landing checks).
• TRIM for that speed.

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CFIT in Pattern

• If the wind is strong, consider turning in a
  little more rapidly the Safe Landing Cone will
  be more steeply inclined to the the horizontal
  so the glider will be closer in to the field when
  the middle of the Cone is reached.

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CFIT in Pattern

• If the wind is light, turn in a little more
  slowly because the Safe Landing Cone will be
  flatter to the ground.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Is this too complicated for a student to learn
  easily?
• NO! Practical experience has shown that
  identifying and maintaining the Angle is a simple
  skill.
• Before introducing the Angle in flight, explain
  in the classroom and ensure the student
  understands the concept.
• In flight, cover the altimeter. Do this from the
  start of training use the law of primacy to
  help!
• When you are ready to introduce the pattern, have
  the student watch only the Angle while you fly
  the glider this lets the student acquire the
  correct sight picture more rapidly.

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CFIT in Pattern

• At the Initial Point, as the downwind leg is
  reached, explain the Angle is now safe, and if
  maintained, the glider will have sufficient
  energy to safely complete the flight.
• Fly downwind at best speed-to-fly, then
  demonstrate how the Angle changes the zig-zag
  downwind leg.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Turn slightly towards the runway until the Angle
  is clearly steeper.
• Ask the student what is happening to the Angle.
• When the correct answer is received its getting
  steeper, turn out/away from the runway until the
  Angle is flatter than necessary, then repeat the
  question.
• After the correct answer is received, turn in
  slightly, and ask the student to say when the
  original safe Angle has been resumed.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Once the glider has passed abeam the Reference
  Point, turn gently towards the extended center
  line of the chosen runway, continuing to maintain
  the Angle ask the student if the Angle has
  changed to emphasize the fact that it hasnt.
• Doing the complete exercise a few times will
  result in the student maintaining the Angle as if
  second nature.
• As time passes, check the student retains the
  correct sight picture for the safe Angle.
• As a separate stage, the student can be
  introduced to the base to final turn, and
  interception of the Safe Landing Cone and proper
  approach control.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Notice how the Angle methodology does not depend
  on use of the altimeter, and does not require
  accurate information on the gliders height above
  the surface.
• This means exactly the same methodology can be
  used for off-field landing, where accurate height
  information is (also) unavailable.

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CFIT in Pattern

• Lastly what word has not been mentioned at any
  time during this session?
• AIRBRAKES!
• Opening the airbrakes before the Safe Landing
  Cone has been entered merely dissipates potential
  energy which might still be needed to avoid CFIT
  and make good the field. It also guarantees that
  the time to landing will be shorter giving, less
  time to respond to any adverse conditions
  encountered.
• Particular local conditions may predicate a
  different pattern requiring early airbrake use.

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• END