Mickey mail pilot high score how to#

Rather, the hazards identified should result from a comprehensive analysis of all potential threat areas and how they will specifically affect the planned or ongoing flight.Īn effective FRAT should not have a finite list of standard hazards. The identified threats and go/ no-go decision should not be based on a numerical score. Specifically, an effective FRAT should accomplish the following objectives. So now what? If a numerical or objective-based FRAT doesn’t adequately evaluate risk, what tool or procedure should a pilot use to evaluate risk on all flights? One answer might be to use a tool or procedure that compensates for all the flaws I already identified for numerically-based FRATS. In other words, the pilot isn’t forced to consider all risk categories and fully analyze each of them to determine whether or not it requires mitigation. Most pilots aren’t fools and will quickly see the lack of credibility and integrity in that approach.īut the key flaw in numerical FRATs is they encourage a lazy and hands-off approach to risk analysis. Further, any numerical-based FRAT could tempt the pilot to fudge the score by downgrading a risk to bring the final score to an acceptable level. But that’s the point: Unless you have risk categories that are all-inclusive, you may miss some that could critically affect your flight. Yes, it’s almost impossible to list all potential flight hazards, since each flight is unique. That one risk could have a high probability of occurrence with catastrophic consequences, and thus be a very high risk, if not effectively mitigated.īy their nature, FRATs consisting of a list of specific items and may not include all potential risks for a planned or ongoing flight. You could have a near perfect low score which indicates it’s all right to launch or continue, but there might just be one item with a negative score, let’s say a line of embedded thunderstorms on your planned route. The most critical flaw revolves around the go/no-go numerical or other threshold. But they all have serious flaws in operational use. These FRATs, and others like them, are generally easy to use and definitely better than nothing. The FRATs available from the FAA and AOPA are described in greater detail in the sidebar on the opposite page. These organizations include the FAA, the AOPA Air Safety Institute and others. Recognizing the need for effective risk management among relatively inexperienced pilots, several organizations have developed numerical-or objective-based-FRATs. I expect that there will be an extended transition period for the new ACS as instructors and examiners “wing it” while the FAA slowly develops new or revised guidance material on risk management. Lacking a significant change in the ways pilots are trained, very few applicants will have received such training and likely will be ill-prepared to demonstrate these skills to an examiner.

Mickey mail pilot high score how to#

The problem with this process is that it supposes that applicants have been taught how to identify, assess and mitigate risk in the real world, as well as for the practical test.

The examiner will expect applicants to demonstrate risk management proficiency throughout the practical test. Applicants also must “show their work” and explain to the examiner how they performed this process. Applicants must now demonstrate identifying, assessing and mitigating risk on all practical test tasks and objectives. Unlike the PTS, the ACS integrates specific aeronautical knowledge with proficiency in corresponding skills on the practical test. Practical tests for private and commercial airplane certificates and instrument ratings must now be conducted in accordance with the ACS documents. The FAA began replacing the PTS with the ACS in 2016. With a little more thought, analyzing risk can be more realistic and much more effective. Although the FAA and industry organizations have developed flight risk assessment tools (FRATs) to help pilots identify and manage risks, these tools often use a simplistic numerical scoring system that will produce a “go” decision when significant risk is still present. Thanks to the contents of the FAA’s new airman certification standards (ACS), which are replacing the practical test standards (PTS), most applicants for pilot certificates and ratings must now demonstrate that they can identify, assess and mitigate risk.