Rank in the Cockpit

Flying Safety, March, 2002 by Steven Robertson

Courtesy US Army Flightfax, October 2000

("Cockpit/Crew Resource Management (CRM): The effective use of all available resources--people, weapon systems, facilities and equipment, and environment--by individuals or crews to safely and efficiently accomplish an assigned mission or task. The term 'CRM' will be used to refer to the training program, objectives and key skills directed to this end. MAJCOMs may implement their programs as either 'cockpit' or 'crew' resource management, based on their respective missions." From AFI 11-290, Cockpit/Crew Resource Management Training Program. Ed.)

Through the course of my career, I have met some top-notch individuals, pilots and enlisted crewmembers. As a flight engineer riding in the back of helicopters, I literally put my life in the hands of the pilots at the controls.

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the US military realized that human error accidents, left unchecked, would consume irreplaceable lives and valuable airframes. Hence, the Aircrew Coordination Program was instituted throughout Army aviation. One of the goals of the program was to take junior crewmembers/aviators who were timid or shy, and teach them how to interact as a team during all stages of a mission. The other part of the goal was to take senior pilots or ranking individuals, and teach them how to receive input and assistance from all members of the crew without undermining authority or creating an atmosphere of hard feelings. Terms like "direct assistance" and the "two challenge rule" were introduced. These concepts apply to all members of the crew. Thorough briefings be fore and after a flight are essential to positive crew performance and successful missions.

Many times after a mission has been completed, I'm approached by crewmembers who report that they are unhappy with how the mission went. Sometimes they're unhappy enough to request they not be scheduled with that particular aviator again. When I ask them if they expressed their concerns during the debriefing, the answer is invariably "no." The reasons usually are expressed as "Well, he outranks me" or "He has more experience than me" or "He is just an overbearing individual, I just can't get a word in without getting verbally beat up."

There have been times during my flight experiences when I asked an aviator to stop doing something I didn't like, and rank had nothing to do with it. My life had everything to do with it. Some of these experiences include missed radio calls from ATC, flying unsafe maneuvers, and paradrop operations in a high-density air traffic environment.

After some of these flights, I've had pilots come to me and say they were glad that I let them know when I was uncomfortable with what was going on during a flight. There were no reprisals or badgering, just a handshake and a thank-you. They may not remember, but I do.

Pass It On

I try to remember to continue to pass my knowledge on when teaching new crewmembers aircrew coordination. We need to do a better job teaching junior aviators and crewmembers to speak their minds freely in the aircraft.

From some things I've seen recently, I'm not so sure we are doing a good job teaching that. It may be that some don't know when they should speak up. In my office, I have a case study of a B-52 accident. The pilot in command was the Wing Standardization Instructor Pilot. He had a three-year history of performing unauthorized maneuvers in aircraft. Leadership at all levels, including the flight surgeon, had failed to take corrective action. The results were tragic.

At our facility, we have a wide variety of safety magazines from other branches of the service, as well as the Army's Flightfax. When I read about accidents involving very experienced crewmembers, I wonder why. How could things have gotten so bad that a mishap like that occurred? We must be vigilant. Treating each crewmember with respect and valuing their opinions are elements of a successful flight. Taking appropriate direction from the PIC is also essential for a safe flight.

(At the time this article was written, SFC Steven Robertson was a CH-47 Standardization Flight Engineer and Platoon Sergeant, Co H, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard.)