Companion Emergency Checklist

[CaptainChuck]

Is there a checklist that a flying companion might study?
I'm thinking of first steps to stabilize flight, secure the pilot, etc.

And then to landing the plane already.

 

[EdFred]

Here's one I typed up: I hate to spring the responsibility on ATC, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea having a emergency pilot trying to read and fly for the first time.

http://webpages.charter.net/edfred/flying/Emergency.doc

This at least gets them in contact with someone.

 

[CaptainChuck]

That assumes someone is listening on 121.5.

Does every tower and ATC facility guard 121.5 given all the false transponder signals?????

 

[sshekels]

They sure do around here! I accidentally dialed in 121.5 INSTEAD of 121.05 (dep) and asked for flight following. That ended up being one odd conversation. Fortunately the person on freq. was VERY nice and laughed off my stupidity! LOL

 

[Greebo]

Not so much a checklist, but King Schools has a two different videos on handling emergencies:
Surviving Systems Emergencies - DVD
Surviving Your Most Feared Emergencies - DVD

 

[Ken Ibold]

Is there a checklist that a flying companion might study?
I'm thinking of first steps to stabilize flight, secure the pilot, etc.

And then to landing the plane already.

Yes, there is, the Emergency Substitute Pilot, put out by CheckMate.

However, my non-pilot wife found it next to useless because it tries to do too much. It's a jumble of mixed fonts and colors and small type. It does have some good features ... such as using common language instead of aviation jargon. But it might be better to just familiarize that person with the checklists in the POH.

 

[Ghery]

I bought my wife the ASF pinch hitter video for Christmas a year ago. She still hasn't blown the shrink wrap off it. Maybe I can get her to look at it while her shoulder is healing up and she has nothing better to do with her time. I would like to think that she would have a chance of putting the plane on the ground without injury to the passengers (who cares about the air frame at that point?).

 

[mikea]

There was a site that had Flight Log and a passenger briefing sheet. I Googled and can't find it again.

I found a nice one:

This is amazing, pictures and all:
http://www.secureav.com/briefing.doc

 

[mdreger]

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Does every tower and ATC facility guard 121.5 given all the false transponder signals?????

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In a word, yes.
http://www.faa.gov/ATpubs/FAC/Ch3/s0303.html#3-3-4
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FAA Order 7210.3T
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Facility Operation and Administration
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3-3-3. MONITORING FREQUENCIES
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a. Frequencies allocated to a facility shall be continuously monitored except:
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1. ARTCCs need not monitor 121.5 and 243.0 MHz if other ATC facilities monitor those frequencies in a given area.
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3-3-4. EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES 121.5 AND 243.0 MHz
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a. AT facilities shall have transmit and receive capability on emergency frequencies 121.5 and 243.0 MHz as necessary to meet emergency frequency network requirements.
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[Ghery]

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a. AT facilities shall have transmit and receive capability on emergency frequencies 121.5 and 243.0 MHz as necessary to meet emergency frequency network requirements.​

Note the term 'as necessary'. Not all towers will have 121.5 MHz capability. For example, the A/FC shows the following note for the tower at OLM (my home field) - "Emerg frequency 121.5 not avbl at twr." I suspect that they depend on SEA approach or center to handle it as we are just outside the SEA mode C veil.

 

[mdreger]

Probably a mistake, but I guessed, based on the sentence before the one I copied: "That assumes someone is listening on 121.5.
Does every tower and ATC facility guard 121.5 given all the false transponder signals?????" the intent of the question to be: Would there ever be an instance where I may not be able to raise an FAA facility on 121.5, but I would be able to contact one on some other frequency.

The first part of the quote from the FAAO also indicated that ARTCCs (Centers) need not monitor 121.5 and 243.0 MHz if other ATC facilities monitor those frequencies in a given area. Providing two instances where the ememgency frequencies wouldn't be monitored by a given facility.

 

[gismo]

That assumes someone is listening on 121.5.

Does every tower and ATC facility guard 121.5 given all the false transponder signals?????

I don't know of any ATC facility that doesn't monitor 121.5 but I'm not sure about all the RCO's.

What does "all the false transponder signals" refer to? Did you mean ELT's? If so I doubt that has a significant effect as any ELT transmitting from the ground isn't likely to be picked up by ATC unless it's located at the facility site (EG tower at an airport) and then they will track it down. There is the potential for an ELT on the ground to interfere with some hapless passenger's emergency comm, but IME that's so unlikely as to not be worth considering. In all the time I've been monitoring 121.5 while flying cross country, I have yet to hear an ELT for more than a few seconds (probably a test) other than the one time one was activated at the airport I'm based at.