Controllers Help Passenger Fly Plane
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Clark
Oct 31, 2009, 9:49:55 AM10/31/09
to Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program
Controllers Help Passenger Fly Plane
Hypoxia Temporarily Incapacitated Pilot
This is a long story, but a very instructional read, and a good job
done by the controllers, as well as the young woman who found herself
an accidental pilot in command.
When the pilot of a small plane reported an oxygen problem over Ohio
last week and asked to “lose some altitude,” Ron Lewis, an air traffic
controller at Indianapolis Center, responded immediately.
He told the pilot to descend to 17,000 feet from 23,000 feet, and
asked him what altitude he wanted.
Twelve-thousand feet, the pilot said. Lewis instructed him to descend
and maintain 11,000 feet, gave him the altimeter reading at Columbus
International Airport and asked if he needed any other assistance.
“Negative,” the pilot responded.
Then nothing happened. Despite Lewis's repeated calls to the pilot,
the Cessna 400 didn't descend.
About five minutes later, a woman's voice came on the radio: “We
cannot figure out how to descend. And I don't think my dad's feeling
very well.”
Hypoxia had set in. The pilot’s body was deprived of oxygen, and he
was left feeling confused and disoriented. The controllers at
Indianapolis Center aren’t sure that he passed out completely, but he
was in no shape to fly the plane.
His daughter, who had no pilot’s training, had to take over. With
careful coaching from the Indianapolis Center and a nearby private
pilot, the woman was able to fly the airplane to a lower altitude
where the distressed pilot recovered enough to eventually land the
plane safely.
“This was truly a perfect example of aviators assisting aviators in a
very tense, potentially tragic situation,” said Randy Smith, the air
traffic manager at Indianapolis Center. “We’ve had two or three
similar situations in the last year or so that have not turned out
well. This was perfect.”
For Lewis and his colleagues, what began as a routine request soon
tested their persistence, resourcefulness and aeronautical knowledge.
About a minute after he told the pilot to descend, Lewis instructed
him to switch to a different frequency as he was about to fly into
another sector. The pilot read back the new frequency, but didn’t
switch his radio. And he still didn’t descend.Then the women’s voice
came on the radio and the controllers had confirmation that they did
indeed have a situation to handle.
After several more radio exchanges, in which the pilot seemed to drift
in and out of lucidity, the pilot's daughter began talking to the
controllers.
File Photo
The pilot “was just having a hard time trying to figure out what was
going on,” said Rodney Riggs, support manager at Indianapolis Center.
“He couldn’t get his mind to work for the aircraft to descend.”
The pilot’s daughter had never flown before and sounded flustered,
according to Bill Walker, another air traffic controller at
Indianapolis Center who stepped in to help Lewis.
But she had to learn how to operate the plane quickly, otherwise she
might become just as disoriented as her dad.
“I was concerned that what had happened to him was going to quickly
happen to her,” Walker said.
Fortunately, Walker is a private pilot and familiar with the aircraft.
And another pilot flying in the area who knew the navigation equipment
in the plane volunteered to help.
For 15 minutes or so, Walker and the other pilot, Jimmy Foote,
orchestrated a high-altitude distance-learning seminar.
“Since he had already passed out and she didn’t seem like she was on
top of her game either, we figured she didn’t have much longer
herself,” Foote said. “So really we didn’t have much choice but to
kick that autopilot off and get her down best we knew how.”
The biggest obstacle at first was telling the woman how to turn off
the autopilot so she would be able to fly to a lower altitude.
Foote “tried to get her to disconnect the autopilot by looking for a
disconnect switch on the pilot’s yoke,” Walker said. “But she didn’t
even know what the term yoke meant. So we had to go back to basics to
help her out.”
Foote walked her through adjusting the trim, which turned off the
autopilot, and the throttle in a “nice, slow Southern drawl” that
Walker thinks helped calm the woman. “And she settled in to a nice
600- to 700-foot-per-minute rate of decent,” Walker said.
“The only thing I knew to do was to get her to bump the electric trim
on the yoke and just knock [the autopilot] off line and try to get her
to ease the power back just enough to give her a stable approach
down,” Foote said. “And fortunately for everybody, it worked.”
Meanwhile, Walker and Lewis got the woman and assisting pilot alone on
a radio frequency and kept the airspace clear.
Since the plane had flown into another sector, Walker coordinated with
the controllers who were managing that airspace.
“It was a group effort. There were five or six people in constant
coordination just to keep the planes away from what we were doing,”
Walker said. “We split the sector in two, and some surrounding sectors
took one or two of the planes.”
To complicate matters, Walker was also giving Foote, who had been
flying from northern Ohio to Tupelo, Miss., vectors to make sure he
stayed close enough to continue to help.
And controllers at Indianapolis Center called Columbus Tower, where a
controller with a pilot’s license was standing by in case a landing
there was necessary.
As the plane descended through 16,000 feet, the distressed pilot came
back on the radio and said he wanted to continue on to his destination
of Stafford, Va.
“I didn’t want to be a hindrance to his situation, so I said that’s
fine, let’s just get you back on course,” Walker recalled.
But the pilot stopped responding again. And after Walker called twice,
the pilot’s daughter was the one who responded.
She continued to fly the plane until they reached 14,000 feet, at
which point the pilot took over for good.
It took him a while to become fully aware of what was happening and he
initially wanted to continue flying to Virginia.
“He was in constant communication below 14,000 feet and he sounded a
little slow until he got very low,” Walker said. “The other
controllers who I spoke to afterward said until he got down to about
six or seven thousand feet, he was a little slow on the
transmissions, and really, really wanted to go home.”
But Walker strongly advised him to land at a Zanesville Municipal
Airport in eastern Ohio, where the pilot made a safe, straight-in
approach to Runway 22 about an hour after entering Indianapolis
Center’s airspace.
Riggs said the Indianapolis Center will put together a briefing on the
event for all its controllers. And the facility will continue to keep
controllers aware of the signs and dangers of hypoxia.
FMI: https://employees.faa.gov/org
Hypoxia Temporarily Incapacitated Pilot
This is a long story, but a very instructional read, and a good job
done by the controllers, as well as the young woman who found herself
an accidental pilot in command.
When the pilot of a small plane reported an oxygen problem over Ohio
last week and asked to “lose some altitude,” Ron Lewis, an air traffic
controller at Indianapolis Center, responded immediately.
He told the pilot to descend to 17,000 feet from 23,000 feet, and
asked him what altitude he wanted.
Twelve-thousand feet, the pilot said. Lewis instructed him to descend
and maintain 11,000 feet, gave him the altimeter reading at Columbus
International Airport and asked if he needed any other assistance.
“Negative,” the pilot responded.
Then nothing happened. Despite Lewis's repeated calls to the pilot,
the Cessna 400 didn't descend.
About five minutes later, a woman's voice came on the radio: “We
cannot figure out how to descend. And I don't think my dad's feeling
very well.”
Hypoxia had set in. The pilot’s body was deprived of oxygen, and he
was left feeling confused and disoriented. The controllers at
Indianapolis Center aren’t sure that he passed out completely, but he
was in no shape to fly the plane.
His daughter, who had no pilot’s training, had to take over. With
careful coaching from the Indianapolis Center and a nearby private
pilot, the woman was able to fly the airplane to a lower altitude
where the distressed pilot recovered enough to eventually land the
plane safely.
“This was truly a perfect example of aviators assisting aviators in a
very tense, potentially tragic situation,” said Randy Smith, the air
traffic manager at Indianapolis Center. “We’ve had two or three
similar situations in the last year or so that have not turned out
well. This was perfect.”
For Lewis and his colleagues, what began as a routine request soon
tested their persistence, resourcefulness and aeronautical knowledge.
About a minute after he told the pilot to descend, Lewis instructed
him to switch to a different frequency as he was about to fly into
another sector. The pilot read back the new frequency, but didn’t
switch his radio. And he still didn’t descend.Then the women’s voice
came on the radio and the controllers had confirmation that they did
indeed have a situation to handle.
After several more radio exchanges, in which the pilot seemed to drift
in and out of lucidity, the pilot's daughter began talking to the
controllers.
File Photo
The pilot “was just having a hard time trying to figure out what was
going on,” said Rodney Riggs, support manager at Indianapolis Center.
“He couldn’t get his mind to work for the aircraft to descend.”
The pilot’s daughter had never flown before and sounded flustered,
according to Bill Walker, another air traffic controller at
Indianapolis Center who stepped in to help Lewis.
But she had to learn how to operate the plane quickly, otherwise she
might become just as disoriented as her dad.
“I was concerned that what had happened to him was going to quickly
happen to her,” Walker said.
Fortunately, Walker is a private pilot and familiar with the aircraft.
And another pilot flying in the area who knew the navigation equipment
in the plane volunteered to help.
For 15 minutes or so, Walker and the other pilot, Jimmy Foote,
orchestrated a high-altitude distance-learning seminar.
“Since he had already passed out and she didn’t seem like she was on
top of her game either, we figured she didn’t have much longer
herself,” Foote said. “So really we didn’t have much choice but to
kick that autopilot off and get her down best we knew how.”
The biggest obstacle at first was telling the woman how to turn off
the autopilot so she would be able to fly to a lower altitude.
Foote “tried to get her to disconnect the autopilot by looking for a
disconnect switch on the pilot’s yoke,” Walker said. “But she didn’t
even know what the term yoke meant. So we had to go back to basics to
help her out.”
Foote walked her through adjusting the trim, which turned off the
autopilot, and the throttle in a “nice, slow Southern drawl” that
Walker thinks helped calm the woman. “And she settled in to a nice
600- to 700-foot-per-minute rate of decent,” Walker said.
“The only thing I knew to do was to get her to bump the electric trim
on the yoke and just knock [the autopilot] off line and try to get her
to ease the power back just enough to give her a stable approach
down,” Foote said. “And fortunately for everybody, it worked.”
Meanwhile, Walker and Lewis got the woman and assisting pilot alone on
a radio frequency and kept the airspace clear.
Since the plane had flown into another sector, Walker coordinated with
the controllers who were managing that airspace.
“It was a group effort. There were five or six people in constant
coordination just to keep the planes away from what we were doing,”
Walker said. “We split the sector in two, and some surrounding sectors
took one or two of the planes.”
To complicate matters, Walker was also giving Foote, who had been
flying from northern Ohio to Tupelo, Miss., vectors to make sure he
stayed close enough to continue to help.
And controllers at Indianapolis Center called Columbus Tower, where a
controller with a pilot’s license was standing by in case a landing
there was necessary.
As the plane descended through 16,000 feet, the distressed pilot came
back on the radio and said he wanted to continue on to his destination
of Stafford, Va.
“I didn’t want to be a hindrance to his situation, so I said that’s
fine, let’s just get you back on course,” Walker recalled.
But the pilot stopped responding again. And after Walker called twice,
the pilot’s daughter was the one who responded.
She continued to fly the plane until they reached 14,000 feet, at
which point the pilot took over for good.
It took him a while to become fully aware of what was happening and he
initially wanted to continue flying to Virginia.
“He was in constant communication below 14,000 feet and he sounded a
little slow until he got very low,” Walker said. “The other
controllers who I spoke to afterward said until he got down to about
six or seven thousand feet, he was a little slow on the
transmissions, and really, really wanted to go home.”
But Walker strongly advised him to land at a Zanesville Municipal
Airport in eastern Ohio, where the pilot made a safe, straight-in
approach to Runway 22 about an hour after entering Indianapolis
Center’s airspace.
Riggs said the Indianapolis Center will put together a briefing on the
event for all its controllers. And the facility will continue to keep
controllers aware of the signs and dangers of hypoxia.
FMI: https://employees.faa.gov/org
Pilot135pd
Oct 31, 2009, 11:10:22 AM10/31/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
Very good job by the controllers and just in time. After the two accidents
where controllers were shown in a bad light it's great that some good PR
comes to the ATC guys. In NY that controller talking on the phone left a bad
mark and yesterday the controller passing off the military plane and
helicopters that collided is getting a bad deal as of now.
Congrats on a great job done, above and beyond their job description!
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Clark" <lewis...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 8:49 AM
To: "Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program" <ftw...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: {ftwasp} Controllers Help Passenger Fly Plane
where controllers were shown in a bad light it's great that some good PR
comes to the ATC guys. In NY that controller talking on the phone left a bad
mark and yesterday the controller passing off the military plane and
helicopters that collided is getting a bad deal as of now.
Congrats on a great job done, above and beyond their job description!
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Clark" <lewis...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 8:49 AM
To: "Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program" <ftw...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: {ftwasp} Controllers Help Passenger Fly Plane
Kilsby, John
Oct 31, 2009, 12:18:58 PM10/31/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
Very lucky
Walker, Dale J
Nov 2, 2009, 2:45:08 PM11/2/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
Shows the importance of controllers having a good background in aviation at a minimum. Certainly a pilot certification is best. Keep in mind there is no requirement for controllers to have any direct aviation experience whatsoever.
Dale Walker
Lead Operations Supervisor
Lockheed Martin Flight Services
Fort Worth, TX Hub
Office: (817) 541-3431
Cell: (940) 765-1100
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Clark
Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 8:50 AM
To: Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program
Dale Walker
Lead Operations Supervisor
Lockheed Martin Flight Services
Fort Worth, TX Hub
Office: (817) 541-3431
Cell: (940) 765-1100
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Clark
Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 8:50 AM
To: Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program
Robert B Barnes
Nov 2, 2009, 3:07:53 PM11/2/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
One of our discussion group members sent the following comments:
"This incident represents an excellent example of 'slow onset' hypoxia ...
pilot symptoms come on almost too slowly resulting in a higher degree of
mental impairment while they fixate themselves right out of situational
awareness ultimately passing out. This process can occur over 10 minutes
compared to the standard TUC of 3-5 minutes at 25,000ft where the effect is
more noticeable. [Light jets] are particularly prone to hypoxia in the
event of depressurization due to the small net fuselage volume."
Robert Barnes
Moderator
International VLJ Training Stakeholders' Discussion Group
www.jetwhine.com/research
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
"This incident represents an excellent example of 'slow onset' hypoxia ...
pilot symptoms come on almost too slowly resulting in a higher degree of
mental impairment while they fixate themselves right out of situational
awareness ultimately passing out. This process can occur over 10 minutes
compared to the standard TUC of 3-5 minutes at 25,000ft where the effect is
more noticeable. [Light jets] are particularly prone to hypoxia in the
event of depressurization due to the small net fuselage volume."
Robert Barnes
Moderator
International VLJ Training Stakeholders' Discussion Group
www.jetwhine.com/research
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Baker
Nov 2, 2009, 3:09:02 PM11/2/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
-------------------------------------------
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Robert B Barnes[SMTP:RBAR...@WORLDNET.ATT.NET]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 3:07:53 PM
To: ftw...@googlegroups.com; Richard Baker
Subject: {ftwasp} Re: Controllers Help Passenger Fly Plane
Auto forwarded by a Rule
One of our discussion group members sent the following comments:
"This incident represents an excellent example of 'slow onset' hypoxia ...
pilot symptoms come on almost too slowly resulting in a higher degree of
mental impairment while they fixate themselves right out of situational
awareness ultimately passing out. This process can occur over 10 minutes
compared to the standard TUC of 3-5 minutes at 25,000ft where the effect is
more noticeable. [Light jets] are particularly prone to hypoxia in the
event of depressurization due to the small net fuselage volume."
Robert Barnes
Moderator
International VLJ Training Stakeholders' Discussion Group
www.jetwhine.com/research
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Baker
Nov 2, 2009, 2:52:17 PM11/2/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Dale J Walker
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 2:45 PM
To: ftw...@googlegroups.com; Richard Baker
Subject: {ftwasp} Re: Controllers Help Passenger Fly Plane
Clark
Nov 3, 2009, 6:57:22 AM11/3/09
to Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program
Hi Dale
We used to have controllers ride on the jumpseat to observe the
operation, before 9/11. That was invaluable to all parties
concerned.And tower staffing shortages have curtailed visits both to
the tower and availability for comtrollers to support Wings seminars.
That seems to be getting better recently.
I always look forward to hearing from the ATC folks, as they have a
unique perspective of operations. It's an eye opener to visit a tower
or other ATC facilities, as well as the new FSS facilities..
Another great resource are the various high altitude chambers across
the counrty. FAASTeam Program Managers can set up a visits and arrange
for rides in the high altitude chamber, for those interested in
experiencing the physiological effects of high altitude flight, use of
oxygen and hypoxia.
We used to have controllers ride on the jumpseat to observe the
operation, before 9/11. That was invaluable to all parties
concerned.And tower staffing shortages have curtailed visits both to
the tower and availability for comtrollers to support Wings seminars.
That seems to be getting better recently.
I always look forward to hearing from the ATC folks, as they have a
unique perspective of operations. It's an eye opener to visit a tower
or other ATC facilities, as well as the new FSS facilities..
Another great resource are the various high altitude chambers across
the counrty. FAASTeam Program Managers can set up a visits and arrange
for rides in the high altitude chamber, for those interested in
experiencing the physiological effects of high altitude flight, use of
oxygen and hypoxia.
Walker, Dale J
Nov 3, 2009, 10:10:30 AM11/3/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
Kent,
You are correct. One of the consequences of 9/11. I sure enjoyed my opportunities to ride in the jump seat, and learned a lot in the process. I think the flight crews may have even picked up something from us once in a while.
I took the altitude chamber training at Wright Patterson AFB years ago as a young B-52 Crew Chief. It was an experience that every pilot that flies above 12,500 ft. should have. You can't explain the effects of hypoxia...it needs to be experienced in a controlled environment.
Hope you are doing well!
Dale Walker
Lead Operations Supervisor
Lockheed Martin Flight Services
Fort Worth, TX Hub
Office: (817) 541-3431
Cell: (940) 765-1100
You are correct. One of the consequences of 9/11. I sure enjoyed my opportunities to ride in the jump seat, and learned a lot in the process. I think the flight crews may have even picked up something from us once in a while.
I took the altitude chamber training at Wright Patterson AFB years ago as a young B-52 Crew Chief. It was an experience that every pilot that flies above 12,500 ft. should have. You can't explain the effects of hypoxia...it needs to be experienced in a controlled environment.
Hope you are doing well!
Dale Walker
Lead Operations Supervisor
Lockheed Martin Flight Services
Fort Worth, TX Hub
Office: (817) 541-3431
Cell: (940) 765-1100
-----Original Message-----
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Clark
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 5:57 AM
To: Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program
From: ftw...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ftw...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Clark
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 5:57 AM
To: Ft Worth Aviation Safety Program
Robert B Barnes
Nov 3, 2009, 10:49:25 AM11/3/09
to ftw...@googlegroups.com
Dale, I certainly agree with your comment that "You can't explain the
Fortunately, others have started to recognize this as well. For example,
Cirrus now offers the option of FITS-approved specialized high altitude
hypoxia training for its Cirrus pilot owners through a partnership with the
Southern AeroMedical Institute (SAMI) in Florida. The program features
access to a state of the art high altitude chamber that has been modified
with flight training devices and ATC to create realistic training scenarios.
Our discussion group members continue to encourage greater emphasis on both
hypoxia and upset training for general aviation pilots transitioning to
higher performance aircraft, such as TAA and light jets.
Robert Barnes
Moderator
International VLJ Training Stakeholders' Discussion Group
www.jetwhine.com/research
effects of hypoxia...it needs to be experienced in a controlled
environment." Like you, I still remember my USAF training many years ago.
Fortunately, others have started to recognize this as well. For example,
Cirrus now offers the option of FITS-approved specialized high altitude
hypoxia training for its Cirrus pilot owners through a partnership with the
Southern AeroMedical Institute (SAMI) in Florida. The program features
access to a state of the art high altitude chamber that has been modified
with flight training devices and ATC to create realistic training scenarios.
Our discussion group members continue to encourage greater emphasis on both
hypoxia and upset training for general aviation pilots transitioning to
higher performance aircraft, such as TAA and light jets.
Robert Barnes
Moderator
International VLJ Training Stakeholders' Discussion Group
www.jetwhine.com/research
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