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Warren Smith Asks,

"Are You Ready To Abort?"

Takeoffs Are Optional

Warren Smith is a Flight Instructor and Designated Pilot Examiner

The Pilot walked into my office with a grim look on his face. "You might want to come outside, I just wrecked your airplane," he said solemnly. As the chief flight instructor for the flight school this pilot had now commanded my full attention. I had rented the aircraft to the pilot not more than an hour ago. Our records had indicated that he was a Private Pilot with several hundred hours. He had recently completed a checkout with one of our company flight instructors and was fully qualified to rent the aircraft. It was a crisp, clear fall day with calm winds. What could have possibly gone wrong?

We walked out to the ramp where the aircraft was parked. It was not a pretty site. The left wing was severely damaged with the outboard two feet bent upward at a forty-five degree angle. Attached to the front of the wing was part of a runway sign, which read 14. "What happened," I ask.

Slowly the story began to unfold. The pilot explained that he began his takeoff roll but neglected to apply adequate rudder pressure to compensate for the left turning tendencies of the Piper Tomahawk. The aircraft slowly drifted to left of the centerline, then well over to the left side of the runway, and finally off onto the grass shoulder of the runway (as evidenced by the tire marks in the grass). Once in the grass the pilot continued to accelerate the aircraft to takeoff speed. Unfortunately, just before the aircraft was able to become airborne, it struck a runway identification sign, skipped off the ground several times, and then struggled into the air. Miraculously, the pilot was able to nurse the aircraft around the traffic pattern and land safely without injury to himself or his passenger. As a result of the damage, the aircraft never flew again.

After listening to the pilot's testimonial I had to pose the obvious question, "why didn't you just stop," I asked. His answer surprised me. "All I could think about was getting the aircraft in the air," he stated. I was baffled as to why a pilot would continue a takeoff that had gone so astray. Why had this pilot developed a "takeoff-at-all-cost" mentality? Could it be that other pilots have the same dangerous attitude toward their takeoffs?

Multiengine pilots are trained how to plan their takeoffs, how to select a go, no-go decision speed, and how to properly abort a takeoff. Basically,they are trained to develop a mental attitude toward takeoffs-to think about what they will do if they takeoff does not go as planned.

Single engine pilots on the other hand are typically not provided such training. When the throttle is pushed forward, the expectation is to take off. This is reinforced time and time again as students practice touch and goes. A pilot may do thousands of takeoffs in a row with nothing ever going wrong and then one day something does. Will the typical single engine pilot react properly?

I decided to do some experimentation. Prior to an instructional flight I would ask my students what they would do should something go amiss during the takeoff. Without hesitation, every student responded that they would abort the takeoff. Once in the airplane I would give the student the actual scenario that we discussed on the ground. I would purposely not latch the door prior to takeoff or pop it open at the beginning of the takeoff roll. Or, I would hold pressure on the left rudder which would offset the pilots right rudder inputs and cause the aircraft to drift left toward the edge of the runway. I would even announce "abort" halfway through the takeoff roll.

The results were dramatic. Even though every pilot said they would abort the takeoff, none of the single engine only rated pilots actually did so when put into a real situation in which they should abort the takeoff. This included pilots with varying backgrounds including student pilots, private pilots, commercial pilots, and even flight instructors. Many ofthe pilots I observed would add full power and then immediately place bothhands on the yoke-a telltale sign of their takeoff expectations.

I believe that there are some important lessons to be learned here for all pilots and flight instructors-particularly pilots without multiengine training. As flight instructors, I think we are unknowingly creating a takeoff-at-all-cost mentality in our students. As pilots, we have a false sense of how we would handle a takeoff abnormality or failure. A little time spent developing a takeoff strategy in a single engine airplane could prevent a small abnormality from turning into an accident. With adequate runway length a takeoff strategy could be as simple as this: If anything goes wrong prior to rotation I will stop. Anything could be a nose wheel shimmy, a strange noise, a directional control problem, or even a feeling that "something does not seem right here".

One accident that I am familiar with involved a pilot who encountered an engine hesitation during takeoff. Witnesses, who were watching the takeoff, heard the engine power up, then cutout midway through the takeoff roll,then roar back to life. The pilot continued the takeoff only to have the engine fail at about 300 feet agl. Why did this Private Pilot with single engine privileges continue a takeoff with a rough running engine? Unfortunately, we will never know because the pilot was tragically killed in the resulting stall spin. In hindsight, aborting the takeoff may have saved this young pilot's life.

Of course, aborting a takeoff is not always the proper thing to do. Runway length, obstacles, and other factors may dictate that the takeoff be continued if possible. The key is to abort the takeoff as early as possible during the takeoff roll-the longer an abort is delayed the more difficult and dangerous it becomes. Pilots of multiengine jet aircraft consider all of the factors and then select a takeoff decision speed. If a problem occurs below that speed the takeoff will be aborted. If the problem occurs at or beyond that speed, the take off is continued. Regardless of the type or number of engines, pilots must mentally prepare themselves for the possibility of an aborted takeoff. Remember, while landings are mandatory, takeoffs are optional.

Submitted by Warren Smith
Flight Instructor and Designated Pilot Examiner
The Flightstar Corporation
Champaign, IL

Reflections and Responses

The above article, which Warren wrote for us here at FlyingSafely.Com, sprang in no small part, from his anguish over the loss of the young pilot to whom he referred. They are passionate words, springing from his personal experience of dealing with the tragic realities of a takeoff which should have been aborted. Thank you Warren, for your excellent remarks, and for helping us to keep flying safely.

Send us your response to this article. If you have an experience to tell about aborting a takeoff, email us and we will pass it on.

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