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Rick Durden |
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| About the Author ... |
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Rick Durden is a
practicing aviation attorney who holds an ATP Certificate, with a type rating
in the Cessna Citation, and Commercial privileges for gliders, free balloons
and single-engine seaplanes. He is also an instrument and multi-engine flight
instructor. Rick started flying when he was fifteen and became a flight
instructor during his freshman year of college.
He did a little of everything
in aviation to help pay for college and law school including flight
instruction, aerial application, and hauling freight. In the process of trying
to fly every old and interesting airplane he could, Rick has accumulated over
5,400 hours of flying time. In his law practice, Rick regularly represents
pilots, fixed base operators, overhaulers, and manufacturers. Prior to
starting his private practice, he was an attorney for Cessna in Wichita for
seven years.
He is a regular contributor to Aviation Consumer and AOPA Pilot
and teaches aerobatics in a 7KCAB Citabria in his spare time. Rick makes it
clear he is part owner of a corporation which owns a Piper Aztec — because,
having flown virtually every type of piston-engine airplane Cessna
manufactured from 1933 on, as well as all the turboprops and some of the jets,
he cannot bring himself to admit to actually owning a Piper.
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A
while ago one of my instrument students and I flew nearly six hours in a day.
Not surprisingly, his last landing was probably measurable on the Richter
scale. Earning our eternal enmity, someone then made a crude, derogatory
remark about the landing over the CTAF/Unicom frequency. Neither of us
responded, but over the next few days I sure came up with what I thought were
some great comebacks. I was angry and I was going to be ready next time to
tell off any jerk that bad-mouthed my student and let him know he couldn't get
away with it.
The memory of the bum on Unicom came flooding back to me the other day. I
was in the pilot's lounge at the virtual airport, between flights, brooding a
bit because the Citabria is being sold and I can't afford to buy it. I popped
out of my funk as I heard Richard relate a recent incident at a non-towered
airport. He had finished his runup, observed an airplane on base leg, felt
that spacing was adequate, and departed without further delay. The pilot of
the airplane on base got on the radio and jumped all over Richard for having
the temerity to takeoff when he was on base. Richard was accused of various
improprieties. Worse, the other pilot seemed to expect a response, even as
Richard was on the takeoff roll. Richard chose to keep his peace. A few
moments later, another airplane gave a position report inbound to the same
airport. The pilot who had been on base got back on the radio and told the
arriving pilot to watch out for the idiot who had just departed.
Richard is an experienced pilot. He's heard inappropriate comments on the
CTAF and Unicom over the years, but said that this one was just plain vicious,
and clearly, he felt, out of line.
It's Getting A Little Ugly Out There
What's going on out there? Over the last few years Unicom has been plenty
congested, yet we seem to be hearing pilots who are willing to hurl cheap
shots, invective or generally try to tell other pilots what to do. Maybe it's
because we are wearing headsets and it's easy to push the button and spew when
we get upset, rather than having to reach for a mic. Maybe we are simply not
handling the increasing pressures on aviation and are taking out our
frustrations on convenient, but the worst possible, targets — other pilots.
After Richard related his story, several other pilots recited their tales
about depressingly poor radio etiquette. The exchanged evolved into a
universal condemnation of such behavior, so I figured we'd solved yet another
problem in aviation and I could go back to being frustrated about the Citabria
leaving. But, no, someone tossed in a question that split the opinion of the
flock, and caused me to try and decide whether there was a correct answer.
Dare We Criticize On The Airwaves?
The question was whether it was ever appropriate for a pilot to give
another pilot, um, let's call it flight instruction, or perhaps constructive
criticism (okay, tell the so and so off) on Unicom frequency.
As I listened, three distinct points of view evolved immediately. A small
group felt that pilots had no business correcting other pilots on Unicom or
the CTAF at all. Ever. They felt that a person acting as pilot in command
should be respected. A second group said they would offer information, helpful
suggestions or safety of flight information without a pilot asking. The third
group said that it was appropriate to correct the behavior of other pilots
over the radio.
Being naturally curious, I was interested in finding out the definition of
the boundaries of the various groups.
Live And Let Live?
The noninterventionists — those pilots who felt strongly about not
bothering other pilots — said that they would respond to a request for
information, but that they did not feel it was appropriate to offer
information, and certainly not criticism, that was not requested. If they were
near the Unicom in the airport office when a pilot called in for an airport
advisory, they would always respond with wind, favored runway and traffic they
knew about. If the arriving pilot then said he was going to enter a left
downwind for runway 32, the nonintervention group would not advise the pilot
that runway 32 had a published right-hand pattern. The pilots I listened to
said that they would not assume that the arriving pilot was ignorant or
stupid, but rather give him the benefit of the doubt in that he may have a
perfectly good reason to be entering a left hand pattern.
Of course, I had to ask the next question, would one of the group make a
radio call if they observed a safety-of-flight matter? For instance,
what if the arriving pilot advised of an intent to enter a left downwind, it
was after dark and there was a mountain on left downwind that the arriving
pilot might hit? The answer I got was yes, if they felt it actually was a
safety-of-flight issue. The same one who said he generally wouldn't call
regarding the right-hand versus left-hand pattern said that he had made a call
to a pilot whom he observed taxiing out with the tow bar still on his
airplane. While he didn't want to embarrass the pilot, he felt the situation
was a safety-of-flight issue.
Offer Information?
The next group was willing to get on the radio in safety-of-flight matters,
but also to provide information. They felt it was appropriate to politely
advise a pilot who expressed his intention of entering a left downwind for 32
that the published pattern for that runway involved a right downwind. Some of
them said that the manner in which they provided unsolicited information to
pilots had to be considered, as pilot egos can be pretty large. They tend to
try and provide information in the most non-threatening manner possible.
Nevertheless, some of them reported getting less than courteous responses from
pilots they had attempted to assist.
Offer Criticism?
The third group was of the opinion that advising pilots of their errors on
the CTAF was not only appropriate, it was essential. They acknowledged that it
would be better to confront a transgressor, such as one who cut others out of
the pattern, on the ground. However, they pointed out that, in the real world,
it is rarely an option. They felt that the only solution for reaching someone
who, wittingly or not, breaks the rules or the norms, is to call him or her to
account on the radio.
I have a lot of respect for those who will stand up for what they believe
is right, even if it brings criticism. It takes a lot of courage. The problem
I had was whether it was the right thing to do on Unicom/CTAF. During the
discussion, my own internal alarm was ringing. My own prejudice is toward less
talk on the radio, rather than more. I don't know if it is correct, but it is
the way I'm wired, so I wanted to listen to those who felt that stepping in
assertively on the radio is the way to go.
One of the instructors present expressed himself well. He's a guy I respect
a lot, and he's done much at the airport to see that students know and follow
the regs and can read and understand the operating manuals for the airplanes.
His position was that, if a pilot is not chastised on the frequency for doing
something dangerous or rude, his misbehavior will go without punishment.
Further, the pilot is likely to repeat the offense. The CFI said that the need
for criticism of an errant pilot is rare, so he believed frequency congestion
was not a serious concern. He supported that assertion by noting the true
causes of frequency congestion: excessively detailed position reports, running
commentaries by pilots as they putt around the pattern, making car rental
arrangements over the Unicom, the yahoos who are 4,000 feet above pattern
altitude yet see fit to tell everyone they are passing over an airport and the
incredibly ridiculous call that has gained popularity: "any traffic in
the area please advise." He had a valid point. Yet, the idea of
correcting another pilot's behavior over the radio still bothered me. So I
listened some more.
The instructor went on to say that all societies have some generally
accepted norms. That is true of aviation. When you criticize someone for
violating a norm, you are contributing to the general consensus as to the
definition of the norm or the range of accepted behavior. He said that when
criticism (and he used criticism in the positive sense, not as a nagging or
tearing down approach) is expressed, depending on how the person receives it,
the result might be to cause a change in belief and behavior for the better
within the aviation community.
The CFI said that part of the reason for his position was that he'd been
chastised on the frequency from time to time in the past and that he'd found
that he'd learned from it. Adding to that point, he gave as an example his
belief that many rookie flight instructors and even student pilots have better
pattern etiquette than lots of high-time professional pilots in larger iron so
they are certainly competent to correct a pilot who insists on flying a long
straight-in approach when the pattern is full.
No one could disagree with his assertion that some of the worst offenders
in the pattern are the professional pilots in turboprops who barge in and
expect everyone to clear the area for them. Many folks present could not
disagree at all with the need to criticize egregious offenders, but were still
very uncomfortable with doing it over the radio.
Open Mouth, Insert Foot
One very experienced pilot in the group quietly said that one pilot's
perception of appropriate traffic pattern operations might not match the point
of view of another pilot. He also referenced the number of old wives tales in
aviation as support for his position that the majority position on an
aeronautical subject is often just plain wrong. As a result, he's very
hesitant to step in on the radio and accuse some other pilot of doing
something improper. He knows he makes mistakes. Despite having tens of
thousands of hours of flying time, he knows that he may just about to be wrong
very publicly.
Other pilots followed this line of reasoning and referred to local
"pattern Nazis" at various airports who tie up the frequency telling
off pilots who don't behave as some individual decrees is appropriate. Yet,
many times those self-appointed dictators were just plain wrong when they gave
public criticism, which could and did generate fights over the frequency,
completely blocking all other legitimate transmissions.
Our instructor who felt that expressing criticism was appropriate was the
first to say that civility is essential, no matter what is done. He wanted to
make it clear that he did not have any tolerance for the little Napoleons who
tried to rule the pattern via fiats to other pilots.
I could not stick around for the resolution (if there were to be one) of
the debate. I noticed they were still at it when I left.
Yes, We Should Speak Up, But How?
As the day went on, my thoughts kept returning to the discussion I'd heard.
What made the issue difficult for me is that I personally believe that a
flight instructor has the background to evaluate a situation correctly and
thus has an ethical obligation to speak directly to pilots that he or she
believes are a hazard to themselves and others. I wrote a column about the
instructor's obligation a few years ago. However, my experience is that
the need for speaking out is an extremely rare event. I suspect that most
instructors will only face the situation two or three times in their career.
The question, as I saw it, boiled down to when, if ever, is it appropriate to
criticize another pilot via the public airwaves? I found I had some opinions
on the subject, and I'll be the first to admit that this is an area where
there are no right answers. I suspect that after this comes out, I'll learn a
lot from the comments of other pilots.
A long time ago I was taught to fly first and talk second. There are lots
of cute clichés that are true. You've heard them, don't put down the airplane
and fly the microphone; aviate, navigate, communicate, etc... I have come to
believe firmly in the idea that less talk on a pilot's part is better than
more talk. Most of us don't look around for other airplanes when we talk, so
we are better off when we are looking rather than talking. I am the first to
get on my soapbox and rail at those who feel compelled to report their every
action to the world via the CTAF: "three-four-Bravo on downwind,"
"three-four-Bravo on base," "three-four-Bravo on final,"
"three-four-Bravo still on final" (those folks also tend to fly
gigantic patterns so they have time to make all their radio calls),
"three-four-Bravo landed without serious impact trauma and is going to
taxi in to go to the bathroom."
Radio calls should be short and to the point. The AIM only recommends using
the CTAF/Unicom for position reporting and getting information regarding the
airport. That's it. It doesn't suggest using it to talk to other pilots, to
compare recipes or to decide which airplane is faster. It doesn't suggest
using the radio to educate other pilots. When you push the talk button to criticize someone else, it congests the frequency. Maybe only briefly, but
what you cannot hear in those moments may be great importance to you. Do you
want to take that risk? Or would you rather deal with the problem on the
ground?
Criticize Privately
I'm also reminded of a basic management and teaching practice: praise
publicly, criticize privately. Let's be realistic, it's no fun at all to
receive criticism, well-intended and carefully worded or not. Remember when
you got constructive criticism from someone you respected? It was done
privately, right? The time some guy told you, publicly, what you should have
done, could have been absolutely right. Maybe you even really screwed up and
deserved the comments, but when you got told about in public, all you felt was
resentment toward the clown who was inconsiderate enough to admonish you in
front of others. You probably didn't learn anything from the criticism. I
suspect you don't even recall what the criticism was about, but you do have a
vivid memory of the way you were treated.
I agree fully with the instructor who said that, unless a person steps up
to correct a wrong, the wrongdoer will never learn that what he did was not
acceptable. I agree with the passionate utterance he made, "those who
care act." However, I am of the opinion that acting by criticizing
another pilot on the radio is rarely appropriate or effective. Your on-air
comment may only inflame the listener. He may know he did something wrong and
just not care. His reaction is going to be to tell you off. You, astonished
that someone could be so crass, respond to him. Now the frequency is locked up
as you two go at it. Has anything positive been accomplished? Probably not.
Has it reduced the level of safety in the area? Probably so. On top of that,
you've distracted other pilots who just might be in a situation in which their
attention should be elsewhere.
"You Just Might End Up Being Wrong," J. Buffett
Another nagging factor in this whole debate is that a substantial portion
of the time I've heard criticism over the CTAF, the person doing the
criticizing was wrong. Sure we all make mistakes. Do you want to be the one to
chastise someone else and then find out you were wrong on a transmitter that
reaches out a hundred miles?
On another level, we like to think that, as pilots, we are a cut above the
road ragers fighting it out on the highways below us. We certainly had to do
more to learn to operate our vehicles. We should be more professional. We
learned that when we have a difference of opinion with an air traffic
controller it's never appropriate to argue on the air; you get the
controller's operating initials and the phone number for the facility and call
the chief to discuss it. I think it's the same thing on CTAF. If the problem
is a local pilot, take it up with him or her on the ground, outside of the
airplane. If the pilot is a transient, get the N number, look up the name of
the owner and make a phone call. (It sometimes works, believe it or not. When
a guy wrecked my friend's tent at Oshkosh by powering out of a parking spot,
my friend got the N number, made a polite phone call and the pilot reimbursed
him for the ruined tent.) If you really feel strongly, call your local FAA
safety counselor (they are not FAA employees), discuss it and let him or her
contact the miscreant. If you want to go to the next level, call the FAA and
make a complaint. Yes, I know that most of us will never go to that level
because we do not want to sic the FAA on even our worst enemy. Yet, I think,
one has to ask the question, if I believe in my heart of hearts that another
pilot's actions are a part of a pattern that is putting others at risk, what
is my obligation? It may be to call the FAA and set out your complaint.
Civil Isn't Weak
For some reason, a number of members of our society, some pilots included,
have come to believe that civility equals weakness. If we don't respond to a
provocation we are wimps. I don't know where such an idea comes from. My
experience is just the opposite. I live in the north, but regularly deal with
lawyers in the south. Almost invariably they are extremely polite in our
dealings, peppering their sentences with sir and ma'am, even when we are
engaged in take-no-prisoners legal combat. They don't respond to every thing
that might irk them. They know how to pick their battles — and win them. The
last way I would describe any of them is as weak. I have friends who are in,
or have been in, elite military outfits. Every single one of them was and is
civil in all social activities. I once had dinner with two Ghurkas, reputed to
be the toughest fighting men on the planet. I had the overwhelming feeling
that these extremely pleasant, polite men could easily kill me with a flick of
the wrist, yet they took no action to "prove" they were tough. They
didn't need to. Not a one of the elite military men I know has that
fundamental insecurity or need to prove something that marks those who loudly
express their lack of basic social graces. It seems to me that the person who
makes the snide remarks, or frequently criticizes other pilots on the radio,
says more about himself than about those at whom the remarks were directed.
Nevertheless, I must support the instructor who encouraged pilots to speak
up when wrongs are observed. I do not see this as an area that has any
absolutes. It takes guts to speak out when we know that we will be identified.
(It's easy to speak out anonymously.) It would be great if the issue were
black and white. It's not. We all agree that if we see a safety-of-flight item
we're going to push the mic button. It's just not easy to describe where the
on-air speak up line is to be drawn, so I think it's time for each pilot to
give it some consideration before getting into an airplane.
I wish there were an easy answer to when to use the airwaves when we see
something wrong. Perhaps there is one absolute: It's never appropriate to make
snide remarks on the radio. There are few enough pilots as it is. We don't
need to demonstrate that we are jerks when we are trying to sell aviation.
Just remember, there are a lot of teenagers who want to learn to fly. Many of
them have aircraft band scanners and are listening to us, wishing they could
be flying. If nothing else, we owe it to those kids to set an example for how
to behave in airplanes.
Otherwise, I guess the way I look at the situation is that, if we are
considering saying something on the CTAF that doesn't involve position
reporting, maybe we ought to give ourselves a five count before we punch the
talk button. We may either decide not to make the call, or we may have time to
compose ourselves and put the message in a way that is actually beneficial.
See you next month.
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