There are many lessons that pilots can learn from the incident yesterday in Atlanta in which a man climbed up on the wing of an arriving airliner, jumped off, and ran naked onto the runway. The ATC audio from Atlanta Tower is instructive and a little entertaining to listen to, so I encourage you to listen to it on Episode 67 of the Aviation News Talk podcast, which you can find in the Apple Podcasts App, or in the Aviation News Talk dedicated app for Android. Here's a brief summary of the top ten lessons that I talk about in much more detail on the podcast.
1. There’s always something new that happens you’ve never seen before.
I’ve been flying for over 40 years, and it seems that once a week something will happen, and I’ll tell the pilot or student pilot I’m with that I’ve never seen or heard anything like that before. That was the case for Delta 192, an MD88 that was on a flight from Miami, which landed on time at the Atlanta Airport at about 4:32 PM EDT, according to Flightaware.com. In their case, according to multiple reports, what they first saw was a man on the wing of their airliner banging on the window! There were still on tower frequency, so this event apparently happened immediately after landing. And the landing time matches up fairly well with the time that the first photos and video started appearing on Twitter. A couple of pilots commented on the tower frequency that they'd never seen anything like this before.
2. Early information is often is often incorrect.
The captain of Delta 192 initially reported that the man on the wing was a passenger, who'd opened the over the wing exit door. Later, as he got more information from the cabin crew, he reported that the man was not a passenger, and that he was now running half naked on the runway!
3. When something out of the ordinary happens, Stop immediately.
The first words from the controller were "Stop all departures." When something unusual happens, stopping may be a good idea so that things don't get worse. That's true whether it's ATC stopping operations, or pilots stopping their airplanes on the ground when an event occurs.
4. Shut down your engines.
Flight 192 reported that they shut down their engines, which was good, as eventually the man ended up banging on the bottom of the airliner, as if he were trying to get in. Things can get worse if engines and propellers continue to run, especially if there’s anyone in the vicinity of your aircraft, so shutting down your engines is a good precaution.
5. Don’t start up again until you’re absolutely sure everyone is clear the area.
After the arrest, Delta 192 initially asked for confirmation that everyone was clear of their aircraft before restarting an engine to taxi to the terminal. It’s pretty hard to see underneath, or behind an aircraft after you’re strapped into the cockpit. If you’re in a GA aircraft and it’s safe to get out, you can look around to make sure there’s no one or nothing close to your aircraft before you restart it. Of course if you’re at a towered airport and on a runway or taxiway, you should get permission first before climbing out of the airplane.
6. Relay information about things you see that others may not see.
At times the pilot of another aircraft may see things affecting other planes that no one else can see. If you see something relevant to an unfolding situation, speak up! Multiple times I've called ground or tower to alert them of an aircraft in the run up area with an open baggage door.
7. If there’s any doubt about the condition of the plane, don’t start up without having someone inspect it, and consider having it towed.
If you're not 100% sure of the condition of your aircraft after an event, have it towed. Running the engine or taxiing could cause further damage or injury.
8. Reevaluate your original plan based on what has just happened.
Does it still makes sense to take off? In this case, the delay on the ground was long enough that a Southwest pilot realized he needed to go back to the terminal and get more gas.
9. Defer to ATC to sort things out….that’s their job!
Atlanta tower was clearly in charge of the situation, though other airliners and ground units chimed in to contribute information. But it was clearly the tower's show, and they orchestrated the response to the event.
10. Be patient, its going to take time for things to get unsnarled.
Atlanta tower spent much more time dealing with the aftermath than the event itself. Pilots need to be patient and wait their turn until the tower can get traffic unsnarled and on it's way again.
11. Enjoy the Show!
Yes I know I said ten items, but I thought of one more. When the tower asked a Southwest airliner if he wanted to exit the runway, he said no, he'd like to stay there and "Watch the show." If you're not in the way, and you have a good view of what's happening, you might as well stay where you are.
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