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Welcome to the test Unexpected Situations – 15.
This test contains 3 situations that you can choose from the menu on the left hand side of this page. Always try to answer before reading the expected answer!
PILOT: Panpan Panpan Panpan Miami Center, Redwood 35, We have suffered unexpected severe turbulence at flight level 350, some passengers have gotten injured. We request an emergency landing at Miami Airport and medical assistance on the ground.
ATC: Redwood 35 Roger. You are cleared to land on runway 26 right. Medical assistance will be provided upon arrival.
EXAMINER: Now tell me in your own words everything the pilot and controller said.
I understood the pilot declared urgency to Miami Center and informed they had suffered unexpected severe turbulence at FL350 and some passengers had gotten injured. The pilot requested an emergency landing at Miami Airport and medical assistance on the ground.
The controller understood the situation and cleared the pilot to land on runway 26R and informed that medical assistance would be provided upon arrival.
EXAMINER: If faced with a similar situation what actions would you take?
Firstly, I would contact the ATC and inform the situation. Then, I would request to divert to the nearest suitable airport and certainly request medical assistance after landing.
EXAMINER:Thank you, now situation 2.
ATC: Air Portugal 129 Brasília Center. Turn right heading 150 immediately to avoid the area ahead of you. It is restricted. It is a military area.
PILOT: Brasilia Center Air Portugal 129 We cannot deviate to the right now. We need to keep present heading to avoid a very severe storm in the area to our right.
EXAMINER: Now tell me in your own words everything the pilot and controller said.
I understood the controller instructed the pilots to turn right heading 150 immediately to avoid the restricted military area ahead of them.
The pilot informed the controller that he couldn’t deviate at that moment because there was a very severe storm area to their right so he needed to maintain present heading.
EXAMINER: What is a restricted area in aviation?
A restricted area is an airspace of defined dimensions above certain land areas which the flight of aircraft is restricted according to specific conditions and regulations.
EXAMINER: Thank you, now situation 3.
PILOT: Mayday Mayday Mayday Frankfurt control Qatar 67 we have an uncontrollable fire in the engine number 2. We don´t have power to reach the runway. We are going to perform an emergency landing.
ATC: Qatar 67 Say your position. I am ordering the emergency services on the ground
EXAMINER: Now tell me in your own words everything the pilot and controller said.
The pilots declared an emergency to the controller informing that he had an uncontrollable fire in the engine number 2 and they didn’t have enough power to reach the runway. The pilots also informed that they were going to perform an emergency landing.
The controller requested the pilots to say their position and informed that he was ordering emergency services on the ground.
EXAMINER: How important is the emergency training for pilots?
The emergency training is very important for pilot because it prepares them to deal with any kind of emergency or abnormal situation during any phase of flight, like engine failures, in-flight fire and decompression.
EXAMINER: Now, considering the three situations you have heard in part three: How would you compare them? You may want to compare them in terms of severity, possible solutions and ways of prevention. Which one do you think is the most difficult to deal with? Why?
I believe that, the storm is the least serious situation to deal with as the pilots are able to deviate to avoid the bad weather condition. To prevent further problems I would inform the control and request to deviate.
The severe turbulence is worse than the bad weather as in this case there were injured passengers on the aircraft. To avoid greater problems I would request to divert to the nearest airport with medical assistance after landing.
However, the uncontrollable fire in an engine is the worst to face during a flight as the situation is out of the pilots control so it can certainly lead to a potentially deadly situation. If I faced this situation I would try my best to stay calm, follow the appropriate check lists and land immediately.
I believe that the best methods of prevention for these situations are good maintenance, constant training and reliable back up systems.
EXAMINER: Thank you. That is the end of part three.