Risk Management Magazine

“Two to fly. Systems, you good in the back?” As a junior aviator, statements like this were commonplace in my cockpit but never resulted in an incident or mishap. As a unit trainer, I taught this technique without reprisal or correction from my seniors. As a student at the instructor pilot (IP) course, however, I said it for the last time. Here’s what happened.

We’d been in country six months and had three more to go. Direct-fire actions had been limited, and the biggest threat we faced was indirect fire and accidents. Up to that point, our ANP mentoring could be described as two steps forward, one step back; but all in all, we were making progress.

Ask any pilot or crewmember what their biggest hazard to flight would be, and you could expect a few different answers; birds, other aircraft, or weather. What about wires? Pilots and crewmembers are taught the hazards to terrain flight during primary and tactical training.