Just Unplug and Fly

There’s a story about a couple of Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 pilots who on a flight from San Diego to Minneapolis completely overflew their destination in 2009.

Northwest Flight 188 nearly earned a fighter jet escort, and once radio contact was reestablished and a U-turn executed, the crew was greeted by a legion of law enforcement at the gate. The two pilots admitted they were making use of the convenient tray table the Airbus sidestick allows, along with the generous Wi-Fi that Northwest provided, to bid on flights on their laptops for the airline’s upcoming merger with Delta.

This did not end well for the crew as they both lost their employment and certificates. However, it is a cautionary tale of how much more complex and interconnected the world that we fly in is—for better or for worse.

First, the good news. I am endlessly amazed at the information, navigation, and coordination available on both my iPhone and iPad. My adult sons who are Android devotees tell me the same is true in their electronic world. I have more information on the weather, airport conditions, flight plans, and myriad of other details that I previously gathered individually in my previous decades of flight.

My iPad, with Foreflight or Garmin Pilot, does the navigation grunt work of an entire class of talented professionals with whom I have flown. These old-school navigators used paper charts, celestial observations, electronic aids, and a dose of wisdom to precisely plot our position. In addition to my navigator friends, I must admit I have not spoken to a Flight Service employee for several years. Today, I can receive the weather, file my flight plan, and fly the route all on my iPhone, thanks to Steve Jobs and his merry little band of Apple employees. It is quite efficient, but I do miss all those friendly conversations.

However, there is a darker side to all this interconnected excellence.

Frankly, it is becoming harder to get away from all the distractions of this world. Work has become an all-consuming, 24/7 enterprise with emails and text messages coming at us at all hours of the day and night.

News and opinion, some of it accurate, and most of it not, flows into these little hand-held devices at all hours of the day and night. Ever notice how many people around you cannot go for more than 10 minutes without checking their phone?

These devious little electronic pacifiers often rob us of the joy of our present company and experiences by seducing us with artificial news, updates, and entertainment. Sadly, just like those unfortunate airline pilots who missed Minneapolis, all of these unwanted stimuli can and do creep into the airplane cabin.

So, what is the answer?

Carpe Diem

OK, I know only five words in Latin, E pluribus unum, and carpe diem. The first, “Out of many, one,” is on the U.S. shield. The second, “seize the day,” was made famous by Robin Williams in the movie Dead Poets Society.

As pilots, it tells us that flying demands we be present at all times. That’s often a hard task in a digital world that constantly vies for our attention. While we are flying, we ought to live in the moment, plan ahead for every eventuality, and focus on the task at hand—flying the airplane.

I am sure you have noticed drivers in traffic talking on their cell phone— or worse, texting and driving. You know the ones—they are stopped head down at the traffic light 10 seconds after the signal changed to green, or poking along in the left lane, 10 mph below the posted limit, merrily typing away.

Just as there is distracted driving, there is distracted flying.

Distracted Flying

Recently we have seen a spate of aviation accidents and incidents related to doors opening immediately after takeoff, several of these fatal.

An open door is an extreme example of distraction due to the noise, wind buffeting, and maybe the presence of passengers suitably unnerved by the experience. However, there have been more subtle but equally deadly examples.

In 2021, a 23-year-old pilot on pipeline patrol in a Cessna 182 flew into the guy-wire of a radio tower. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later noted that the pilot had posted on Snapchat 35 seconds before the fatal collision.

There have been several accidents in the past decade involving pilots taking selfies in flight, including one using a flash on a night flight. Then there is the 2023 accident where the flight instructor was posting unprofessional videos about his student on Snapchat just prior to a fatal encounter with severe weather.

So, place your iPhone on mute, turn off the social media, ignore the email, and clear the schedule for the day.

To be sure, I enjoy the many social media contributors who record their flying events for our enlightenment and education. These folks seem to be uniformly professional and appear to separate their flying from video recording efforts.

But we live in an age where everyone can now become a content creator. Think carefully before becoming the Steven Spielberg of your airport. The pros set up their recording equipment and then let it operate autonomously while they fly. Then they model professional piloting techniques while in the air.

Fiddling with a bunch of GoPros, your phone camera, and especially posting live while in flight is a recipe for disaster.

Compartmentalized Attention

One technique that has served me well throughout the years is an understanding of the concept of compartmentalized attention.”

Flying in a military airplane with three radios and 10 crewmembers sharing a single interphone often resembled the Tower of Babel. Most of us who flew in this environment developed an ability to separate the important bits of communication from the less important chatter. Once identified, the less important matters seemed to be muted, and we focused on the task at hand.

This skill has not always been helpful. While watching a particularly interesting documentary on TV, my understanding wife of many years, Debbie, would occasionally ask a question. My brain, ready for this interruption, would compartmentalize and mute her question, so I could get on with the show. OK, I soon learned this was not a great choice.

However, compartmentalized attention can help us focus on the task at hand. Primary is flying the airplane, even on autopilot. Secondary is figuring out where you are going, when you are going to get there, and whether there will be any avgas in your fuel tanks when you arrive. That last point still seems to still elude many pilots.

Last but not least, there is the little matter of communication. Not on your cell phone, but with ATC, your passengers, or maybe your flight instructor. Sounds a lot like “aviate, navigate, and communicate” doesn’t it?

Sterile Cockpit

Another concept that helps avoid distracted flying is the sterile cockpit.

For most airline and military operations, the rule reads something like this: “Below 10,000 feet, all communications will be related to the task of flying the airplane.” For those of us who spend all our flying time below 10,000 feet, this does not help much.

So, how about this? From takeoff until cruise altitude is reached, and again from the start descent point to landing, all conversations between pilots and passengers should be about the task at hand—flying the airplane. Climbing and descending takes us through the flight paths of numerous other aircraft. Takeoff and landings are critical phases of flight, so no idle chatter, no phone calls, and no excessive heads-down time should be the order of the day.

Unplug and Fly

In my military experience I saw some of the best at this unplug-and-fly mentality.

Busy senior officers who were on flying status made a habit of telling the office they were not to be disturbed, turned off their phones, and focused on the task at hand—flying the airplane. Some did this better than others. So, let’s put this all together with a real-world example.

A busy manager finishes their day and is preparing to fly home. The meetings have not gone well, and there are lots of loose ends to tie up. Emails and texts are flying hot and heavy. Hmm, should we take off, put the airplane on autopilot, and make a couple phone calls through the headset to see if we can head off some problems with the business. Or maybe we ought to just stay overnight, make those calls, get a good night’s sleep, and fly home the next day.

I vote for option No. 2. Once again, the best safety tool in our quiver is a credit card and an Uber.

I often tell my friends and family that I am the most relaxed and comfortable when I am in the air. The opportunity to fly the airplane, become fully involved with aeronautical decisions, and take in the gorgeous views is one to be savored.

So, every time I am tempted to check my email, make a phone call, or look at a social media post, I hear a familiar voice reminding me to carpe diem and seize the day.

Writer’s note: It has been a real privilege to share my written words with each of you in both Pro Tips for Private Pilots, and This Incredible Plane columns during the past five years here at Plane & Pilot. Each of these over 100 columns have been a labor of love, made even more special by the personal e-mails, notes, and connections with so many readers over the years. As you are aware, the magazine is going in a new direction. Change is good, and I wish them well. As for me, I intend to take my own advice and use my newly earned free time to “Unplug and Fly” even more. So, if you hear Cardinal N18725 check in on the frequency, think kindly of me…and fly safe!