English
Welcome to the test Unexpected Situations – 13.
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, Heathrow Control, Dragon 205, we have a medical emergency on board. We believe the captain had a stroke, request immediate landing, and medical assistance upon arrival.
ATC: Dragon 205 roger, expedite descent, cleared to land on runway 27 left, medical assistance is on the way.
EXAMINER: Now tell me in your own words everything the pilot and controller said.
I understood the pilot declared an urgency to heathrow control, saying there was a medical emergency on board, they believed the captain had a stroke, and requested immediate landing and medical assistance upon arrival.
THE CONTROLLER UNDERSTOOD, AND TOLD THE PILOT HE WAS CLEARED TO EXPEDITE DESCENT, AND LAND ON RUNWAY 27 LEFT, BESIDES THAT HE INFORMED THAT MEDICAL ASSISTANCE WAS ON THE WAY.
EXAMINER: What training do pilots have to deal with a pilot incapacitation?
Normally the training pilots have for a pilot incapacitation is in the simulator, where we are taught how to deal with this kind of situation, besides that we must know know the procedures that are in the SOP.
EXAMINER: Now listen to situation number 2.
PILOT: PanPan PanPan PanPan, Miami Centre, AeroMexico 743 we have an apparent problem in the engine we reckon we had bird ingestion during our take off, we request to return to land on runway 26L.
ATC: AeroMexico 743 roger, runway 29 is also available.
PILOT: Miami centre roger that, we will change to land on runway 29.
EXAMINER: Now tell me in your own words everything the pilot and controller said.
I understood the pilot of AeroMexico 743 declared an urgency due to an apparent problem on their engine and they reckoned they had a bird ingestion during take off, they also requested to return to land on runway 26L.
The controller understood the pilot and informed the them that runway 29 was also an option for landing.
The pilot understood that runway 29 was an option and informed the controller that he would change the runway to land on runway 29.
EXAMINER: What are the procedures for a bird ingestion?
The first thing the pilot must do is identify the problem, besides inform the controller and lastly follow the appropriate check list.
EXAMINER: Now situation number 3.
ATC: Lufthansa 943, Montreal Centre, we are informing that the current temperature in the aerodrome is at -2° Celsius. State your altitude.
PILOT: Montreal Centre, we have an erroneous altimeter indication our main altimeter is indicating FL220 and our other indicador is 220FT above. Can you confirm our current altitude on your radar, Lufthansa 943.
EXAMINER: Now tell me in your own words everything the pilot and controller said.
I understood that Montreal Centre contacted the pilot and informed that the current temperature in the aerodrome was at -2° Celsius, besides that he asked the pilot to state his altitude.
The pilot of Lufthansa 943 informed the controller that they were facing altimeter indication problems one of the altimeters was showing FL220 and the other was showing 220FT above, he also asked the controller to check their altitude on the radar.
EXAMINER: What are the dangers of incorrect altimeter indications?
From my standpoint the dangers are that it can lead to a mid-air collision or also a controlled flight into terrain, so it can be a potentially dangerous situation during a flight.
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?
In my opinion the pilot incapacitation is the least serious situation to deal with as one of the pilots is still able to control the flight and divert to airport. If i faced this situation I would certainly land at the nearest airport.
The bird ingestion is worse than the pilot incapacitation as it can lead to panic on board, severe damage to the engine and major delays to the flight To avoid greater problems I would request to return to the airport immediately.
However the unreliable altimeter indication is certainly the worst to face as it can lead to a high workload in the cockpit besides that a potentially deadly situation. If I faced this situation I would follow the appropriate check list.
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.