Jetstar Scenario Questions Flashcards
A time you lost situational awareness and how you regained it?
S
-instrument rating conversion in Canada
-atc said expect STAR/RNAV
-input it into the Garmin 430 GPS
-when cleared operated GPS incorrectly and lost navigational SA.
T
Maintain safety of flight during loss of SA and allow myself to regain it.
ACTION
-asked ATC for vectors to the waypoint. -reprogrammed the GPS correctly and proceeded with the STAR/RNAV
RESULT
-maintained safety margins by requesting vectors while I reset gps -significant ground practice on the 430 to ensure I was conversant with it for future flights.
Tell us about a time you had to lead a team?
SITUATION
-In Canada flying to a remote hunting lodge with junior pilots who had not been there
-in multiple aircraft, to pick up hunters and moose meat.
-due to load use off a supervising pilot on aircraft was not possible.
TASK
-brief and supervise on numerous challenges including mechanical turbulence, unusable areas and slope. Calculation, distribution and securing of load also had to be considered.
ACTION
I briefed them on what to expect with regards to turbulence around the area caused by consistent wind off a neighbouring lake and high forest and portions of the airstrip were soft, ie. we had to land long (uphill). Once on the ground I ensured all load was weighed and secured with a cargo net. Distribution was important as I’d seen a 206 fall on its tail during loading there before.
RESULT
Through my extensive experience I had a solid knowledge base to pass on and lead new pilots. We achieved a safe and effective charter trip despite the challenges and new pilots now equipped to do the job in future without assistance.
Tell us about a time you had to prioritise?
SITUATION
We would sometimes receive medevac jobs which would conflict with an upcoming charter. We did not have a contract for medevacs so we’re not under an obligation to provide, only on adhoc basis.
TASK
Decide on whether or medevac charter would take priority
ACTION
I would have to consult with dispatcher and aeromedical contractor providing EMTs to determine if it was a legitimately serious case (often was not) and necessary to delay charter for. Most of the time the medevac and charter were for the same First Nation Community, so the decision could be made in consultation with them which flight they wanted completed first.
RESULT
If required medevacs would take precedence over a charter and we would get patients to the medical care they required. Oftentimes if the patient was ambulatory, I was able to fit them on the charter and combine the flights.
A time you were uncertain about which course of action to take?
S After taking off from Narrabri in a kingair, I selected gear up and the gear failed to retract. The motor would run for several seconds (no transit light) then the gear relay cb would trip (and gear remained locked down).
T I needed to primarily maintain the safety of the flight and secondarily decide on the course of action/possible diversion following the gear failure.
A I had plenty of fuel and the weather was VMC so I elected to initially take up departure track and continue climbing whilst having my co pilot look through the checklist for any possible solutions. I mentally noted to maintain not above 181 gear down and 163 gear retracting speeds. I tried resetting the relay cb once and cycling to no avail. I was not sure of fuel burn so I levelled out at 17000ft after exhausting options, to calculate tas and fuel burn. I was happy to note that continuing to the Gold Coast was only 1-200lb greater burn than normal ops, so elected to continue as this still had us well above margins. Some considerations I discussed with my co pilot were if we had an engine failure what our options were (there were plenty of suitable alternates enroute), and avoiding icing conditions with the gear out (easily done on the day)
R We were able to safely fly the aircraft back to the Gold Coast with minimal interruption. I assessed this to pose no greater risk to safety than turning back to land at Narrabri and subsequently completed the charter, only 5minutes late. The added benefit was the aircraft finished at home base where it could be easily attended to for maintenance.
With the assistance of my highly experienced FO I gained valuable experience handling a real failure and going through procedures.
Tell us a time you didn’t agree with SOP and went against it?
S Under the old charter regulations we were permitted to fly at a maximum altitude of 10 000ft unpressurised without the use of supplemental oxygen. With the new CASR coming out Part 135 has a clause where you can cruise up to 13 000 ft for up to 30 minutes without oxygen. Our ops manual still stated we would use oxygen when operating above 10 000ft so this required changing.
T I was given the job of incorporating the new regulations into the ops manual as well as writing transition checklists to address issues such as standard QNH and the changing transition layer.
A Whilst reading through the points of Part 135 I noted that whilst the amount of oxygen required for the flight up to 30 minutes was nil, the first paragraph still stated the aircraft must be equipped with a system capable of delivering oxygen. Caravans are normally equipped with an oxygen system however our bottles have been removed to save weight. I brought this to the chief pilots attention.
R After consultation with his our accountable manager the chief pilot decided to interpret Part 135 as not requiring oxygen for flights up to 13 000ft, however instructed me to add a note in our ops manual limiting our operations to 12 000ft as an increased safety buffer.
Tell us about a time when you’ve had to deal with a stressful situation in flight and how did you dealt with it? /out of your comfort zone? How could you have handled it better?
Talk about the time landing in CYMM with unforecast 1/8SM freezing fog. Missed on RNAV and landed from opposite direction ILS just as fog was covering airport.
S- I was operating a night charter flight from Fort Vermilion to Fort McMurray in Alberta. The forecast was for CAVOK weather. Mid flight I begun to notice the ground looking obscured by fog. Upon obtaining a weather update from Fort McMurray Tower I was advised of fog rolling in from the West
T My responsibility was to safely and efficiently transport my passengers.
A I assessed the up to date weather and decided the best option was an RNAV approach straight in on 07 (I was approaching from West) to try and beat fog. I conducted the approach to minima and wasn’t visual in the fog so did a missed approach. I broke out midway down the runway so elected to attempt an approach onto runway 25. I requested vectors for the ILS 25 to allow myself time to brief, then landed safely from that approach.
R Attempting the 07 approach was I believe worth a try as it added minimal flight time whilst giving the possibility of avoiding a longer approach around for 25. By asking ATC for vectors I was able to give myself time to fully brief the ILS. In terms of improvement, I became more aware of the potential for unforecast fog. I could have been slightly better prepared with the approaches briefed.
When have you gone out of your way to learn something new?
S When I first started flying the kingair I read the flight safety manual as well as received a ground school from the chief pilot. This covered the aircraft in general however I still found myself wondering about some odd things at times and was sometimes unable to get an answer from any of my fellow pilots.
T I wanted to know as much as possible about the aircraft. The first thing I wondered was why was there a lump on the aileron trailing edges.
I began researching this and otherquestions that came up in my mind during flight. I pretty quickly came across a panel called “ask the expert” on the kingair magazine website. I found many very detailed and well explained articles addressing all manner of situations specifically kingairs. Furthermore I was confident of accuracy as this was all written by a pilot who has been flying kingairs since becoming an instructor at the Beechcraft factory in 1972.
R As a result I found myself reading many interesting articles learning things from the purpose of the lump of the aileron trailing edge (the 200 series has longer wings to allow a wider centre section than needed- for a quieter cabin. This in turn required longer ailerons for more control authority, however resulted in a lack of centring tendency. Finally the lump was added to fix this, much like the feathers of an arrow keep it streamlined pointy end forward). A similar feature was also incorpated in 300 series to address an issue with rudder lock in certain configurations of flight.
Tell us a time when you have had a setback and what was it about you?
S I failed my NVFR flight test soon after achieving my PPL. The primary reason for the failure was my lack of familiarity in the aircraft, a C182, as I had just completed my CSU endorsement and only 1 nav in the aircraft prior to the flight test. This led to a general breakdown of my flying standards over the entire flight test.
T I realised I needed to consolidate my C182 flying which wasn’t up to standard before re-attempting the NVFR flight test.
A I undertook additional training in the C182, primarily IF and circuits, as well as solo consolidation flying to build my confidence.
R As a result I became very comfortable in the aircraft and confidently passed the flight test the following week.
I learnt the importance of always being on top of aircraft systems knowledge, making all other aspects of flight easier by freeing up brain space.
Tell us a time you have brought in outside resources to achieve a goal? / Tell us about a time when you’ve dealt with conflict with a colleague?
S A colleague would always insert the engine bungs incorrectly with the tie behind the prop, instead of in front (a very common procedure to guard against engine damage if the bungs are inadvertently left in) or leave the parking brake on (risk of brakes freezing in extreme cold). Eventually when the issue was raised to a management level via SMS reports, this pilot took it upon himself to make more of an effort to adhere to procedures and began to do it correctly more consistently.
T
A Myself and other pilots repeatedly reminded the pilot of these issues, however it was a case of habit often after a long nightshift rather than intentional wrong doing.
R Eventually when the issue was raised to a management level via SMS reports, this pilot took it upon himself to make more of an effort to adhere to procedures and began to do it correctly more consistently.
A time when you have received feedback from a customer or colleague? How did you make an improvement? This can be positive or negative.
During Covid lockdowns when most of our flying operations were shut down I operated a weekly charter flying mine workers to an airstrip called Dingo out near Emerald.
My company received an email from the manager of the mining company saying “In a world in turmoil, it is easy to focus on the things not working well and overlook someone doing a fantastic job, and they appreciate especially Chris’s client focus”.
I believe this was earned through:
-always taking necessary Covid precautions
-taking the time to remember all the clients names-
1always being punctual
- keeping the pax up to date with any weather and making small deviations to achieve maximum comfort.
This was well received by both myself and Seair in very trying times.
Tell us a time when you had to make an unpopular decision that resulted in a positive outcome.
S flying the caravan back from Lady Elliot Island to Redcliffe on a stormy summer afternoon.
T Faced with a solid line of storms blocking my flight path I had to decide whether to hold or land and wait for the storms to pass.
A I elected to land at the Sunshine Coast which incurred higher landing fees than had I gone to a small uncontrolled airport closer to Redcliffe (Caboolture/Caloundra).
R It was never my boss’s first choice to land at bsu due to the costs however I assessed on the day that it was the safest viable option with Caboolture and Caloundra already affected by storms. The end result was a 1 hour stop on the ground and then proceeding safely to Redcliffe once the storms passed and my boss reluctantly I agreed I had made a good call.
Had to think outside the box to deliver a favourable outcome? How have you used your experience/knowledge to get a result? How has your pre-planning helped you in a situation?
S When flying to Redcliffe from Lady Elliot island we would change to IFR when required and descend down using grid LSALT. One day upon receiving the ATIS from Brisbane and Sunshine Coast, I was faced with 500ft cloud base.
T I knew the only way I would be able to safely and legally get into Redcliffe was to establish myself visually over water and fly coastal.
A I made a plan to conduct an RNP approach into the Sunshine Coast and if possible to maintain VMC along the coast to Redcliffe, continue flight at 500 visual to Redcliffe. I gave it a 50/50 chance of success so called my chief pilot to ask what he preferred if I assessed it not suitable to stay visual, whether to land at YBSU or fly back to YBCG. We made a decision to fly passengers back to YBCG if unable to land at Redcliffe. I communicated to the tower my intentions.
R I became visual and requested 500 ft visual tracking coastal. I was able to maintain VMC and land in Redcliffe.
When has someone taught you something?
S When I began flying the kingair, after getting checked to line I had had little experience dealing serious high altitude weather during my ICUS training.
T/A The chief pilot made a plan for me to fly with pilots with significant high level experience.
R I did a significant amount of my flying soon after being checked with an ex airline pilot as First Officer. After exposure to storms and icing with assistance I became confident in dealing with these situations on my own and with less experienced crew.
Tell us about a time you had to deal with the needs of the client vs the needs of the company and weigh up priorities.
Tell us a time you went out of your way to help someone?
S
Several of my co workers in Canada were struggling to pass the inrat exam. I had recently completed the exam during my IR conversion so my knowledge was quite good.
T/A
I would help any of the pilots after work at our crew house that needed it.
R
I gained satisfaction helping junior pilots by passing on my knowledge and it had the added benefit of keeping the knowledge fresh in my mind.
