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Michael Goulian: Aerobatic Champion and Red Bull Air Racer

You’ve got the whole family on board for a great weekend by the ocean. However, the landing attempt on a runway that’s short and obstructed didn’t go so well. Now you have only a second to decide if an attempted go-around will safely clear the trees—or result in a catastrophe.

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

Bang: You have no engine and no hope of getting it back. In the next 30 seconds, you must decide where to put this airplane down with your daughter, your dog, and all your gear aboard. Ditch it in the lake or fly it into the trees? Think fast, you get lower with each passing second.

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

Sport planes and a Sport Pilot Certificate can be tools for real travel by air, with a few limitations. There’s no night flight, usually no instrument flight, and light wing loading can make turbulence challenging. That means creativity might be required to complete the mission—or sometimes just to get back on the ground.

Tom Turner: NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

A day of fair-weather flying, tailwinds, and an on-airport restaurant with the tastiest barbecue in the county: What could be better? The after-lunch departure, however, leaves you deciding between departing uphill and upwind, or downhill and downwind. Trees off one runway end complicate matters further. Don’t wait too long; this fair weather won’t last.

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

VFR into IMC might be the deadliest trap for non-instrument pilots. It’s easy to say you’d just turn around, but the reality of cross-country flying is that deteriorating weather lures even the most resolute souls when it occurs slowly, and with tempting options–that can vanish in moments if the conditions are right.

Judy Phelps: National Flight Instructor of the Year 2011

It’s the perfect sunny day to take your new airplane and three friends for a day off the coast of California. The only catch is a bank of fog lingering just off your destination airport. The ASOS calls it IFR, but you see the runway in the clear. Will you still try and land?

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

Difficult situations can crop up on beautiful days and without anything actually going wrong. In fact, these might be the most insidious of traps because they lure you in. Watch how a series of reasonable decisions creates a tough conundrum. How would you handle a situation where every option leaves you feeling uncomfortable?

Tom Turner: NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Fire might be the most terrifying thing a pilot can face. Even the possibility of a fire is enough to warrant an immediate diversion. But what if the nearest place has no assurance of landing, and the surest one is practically your destination anyway? And what if it’s not fire but just the smell of fuel?

Sarah Fritts: Army Combat Aviator

The winds are favoring one runway, but the other pilots are using a different runway and a crosswind one at that. Will you forgo the normal traffic pattern entry and fly a straight-in, attempt a normal traffic pattern entry, or go against the flow of traffic and land on the runway no one else is using?

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

One risk of retractable-gear aircraft is that the wheels might not come down no matter what you do. Now you’re faced with picking the kind of gear-up landing you prefer: two wheels or none, grass or pavement? Don’t think this one is just for retract pilots. Gear issues happen in all airplanes

Katie Pribyl: Former Leader of AOPA’s Aviation Strategy and Programs division

It’s a perfect day for a flight to Yellowstone National Park, but the choice of route is anything but clear. Will you go high or low? Will you go direct or take one of the long ways around? How will you weigh the risks and benefits for a flight out and back in the high country?

Bruce Williams: CFII, FAASTeam Rep, Aviation Author

After a great day at the beach, it’s only a 40-minute flight home. But the sun has long since set, and an uncooperative alternator makes even a short VFR flight complicated when you consider navigation, communication, and regulations. Even the simplest choice isn’t so simple when you look at the big picture, and the destination is so temptingly close.

Mike Hart: CFI, Professional backcountry pilot

You’re almost home, but a thunderstorm will make that last dash tricky. Can you make the run to your destination safely, or do you take one of the longer routes which present their own challenges? Or do you land at the airport nearly below you, but into the maw of a second storm rapidly heading that way?

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

What looks like a perfect partnership in a Cessna Cardinal gets a bit rough over unforgiving swampland. How will you resolve an engine issue and personality conflict when it’s not your airplane—even though your backside will be in just as much trouble if the motor quits completely? The alligators below await your choice.

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

Lowering ceilings and patchy showers have you pushing the limits of VFR along the shore of Lake Erie. The weather is much better along the north shore, but that’s Canada, and you don’t have a passport or permission from Customs and Border Protection. Will you press on, turn around, or cross the fence in clear—but foreign—airspace?

Tom Turner: NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

It’s just a short hop in a plane you’ve logged hundreds of hours flying. However, it’s not until rotation that you realize how poorly the airplane is performing. Now there’s not enough runway to put it back down, but barely enough climb to keep it in the air. Where will you go?

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

What started as a favor for a friend has turned into a confusing mess of ATC instructions and attempts at landing. How much PIC authority will it take to straighten this out? And more importantly: Which choice gets you down and safe without causing a pilot deviation—or turning you into a 737 hood ornament?

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

You’re in the descent to your destination airport, where you have an appointment for your first ever tandem jump skydive. As you plan to cross the airport and enter the pattern, you hear a call of “Jumpers away”—probably from over your head. Do you need to change plans, or is an evasive action the worst choice?

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

It’s a checkride, so you took a long time in the runup area making sure you didn’t miss a thing. Now, it’s time to depart but you can’t see the other end of the runway. The winds are calm. Is there a chance someone else is down there or is that less likely than winning the lottery?

Ivy McIver: ATP with Seaplane, Tailwheel and Formation endorsements

There are few emergencies in aviation that require immediate action without time to think. One of them is an engine failure at low altitude. What will you do when faced with four options, given your actual view out the window? Or, will you use the airplane’s parachute—even though you’re so low it might make things worse?

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

The LSA you’re flying isn’t equipped for legal flight in the clouds, but its autopilot doesn’t know that. That’s why you trained yourself to turn it on and do a 180, if you ever went IMC accidentally. But that’s not working out as planned, so what’s the best way to get back to visual conditions?

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

Seconds after rotation, the airplane has a mind of its own: It climbs; it descends; the controls seem all wrong. You get a moment of stability and have to decide what’s worse: Turning away from airlines approaching O’Hare—and risking renewed loss of control—or busting through the final approach of one of the world’s busiest Bravos.

Michael Goulian: Aerobatic Champion and Red Bull Air Racer

Your destination airport is just on the other side of a broken cloud deck, and there’s at least one big hole right below you, right over a lake that’s obviously free of obstructions. Is there a safe way to get in from above? How about from the valley on either side? Or, is this just a trap for suckers?

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

Flying a floatplane has inherent risks, one of which is your landing site might be impossible to use if the winds are wrong or the water is low. Amphibious gear gives you the best of both worlds—until it fails and leaves you searching for the least bad solution to a multi-headed problem.

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

It’s been a storybook flight home with your new airplane. You even got a clearance into Class Bravo airspace to see your favorite baseball team from above. Then an electrical issue forces you to turn off the master. How will you balance safety, compliance with the regulations, and following the last instructions you received from ATC?

Michael Goulian: Aerobatic Champion and Red Bull Air Racer

his power-off landing is just for bragging rights at a local spot landing contest. You could win it if you adjust for the headwinds, yet an early error makes the target seem just out of reach. But maybe there’s a way if you can make the right correction.

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

Things were going well: You flew your airplane to an airport few GA pilots will ever see, you rocked a two-day demo for an important work project, and you got a tailwind whisking you toward a steak dinner with family. Then your only engine failed, over unfamiliar territory and at night.

Bob Nardiello: DPE, CFI of the Year

Everyone knows that wake turbulence can upset small airplanes. LSAs can get tossed around by even a turboprop taxiing past. But does the pilot of a 3800-pound airplane need to leave extra room just because a jet is taxiing by? What if he must ask the jet to stop and wait while he repositions?

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

It’s a beautiful day and a routine flight over the open fields of Kansas. A minor instrument glitch seems to have resolved itself, leaving you to contemplate the scenery. That’s until “fire in flight” changes from a POH procedure into an immediate reality. You must get much closer to that scenery right away … but how?

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

It’s a simple fact about aviation that what seems like a dangerous action to one pilot is a routine operation to another.  Part of expanding your experience, and the tools in your kit, is learning new techniques from experts. Is hand propping a piston twin one of those situations or just excessively risky?

John Krug: CFII, FAA ATC Instructor & QA Specialist

Practicing for emergencies is core to aviation training. Creating realistic preparation for a potentially deadly event sounds like a great idea. But is it worth it when the risk of the event may be lower than the risk of an insurance claim from the practice itself? Maybe sticking with more conventional training is better?

Michael Goulian: Aerobatic Champion and Red Bull Air Racer

You’re out practicing some maneuvers, and ATC gives you a heads-up about traffic. You roll out of the turn and what do you see? There’s an airplane with no relative motion heading straight for you—close enough that you have only seconds to react. What will you do to avoid the collision?

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

It’s time to leave the New Mexico high country, but a flat tire means a delay while you wait on the repair. Meanwhile, the temperature on the ramp just keeps climbing. Will your turbocharger alone be enough to counteract the high-density altitude, or will you adjust your plan for a safe departure?

Dean Showalter: A&P / IA, CFI

What do you do when you discover a mechanical oversight that’s probably not a safety issue but leaves your airplane technically unairworthy and there’s no one around to fix it? Can you remedy the situation yourself? Or is it better to act as if you never noticed it in the first place?

Kevin Plante: FAA ATC Specialist, Commercial Single/Multi-Instrument

You’ve been to Airventure at Oshkosh more than once and you never worried about crossing Lake Michigan. However, that was back when you owned a twin-engine airplane. Now that you’ve retired to an LSA, you’d rather not take the risk. But is it any riskier than the remaining options when the weather isn’t ideal?

Katrina Linder: Air Traffic Controller, ATP, CFII-MEI

The plan was for a relaxing day and a bit of celebration. The reality was a melee of light airplanes, all converging on an island airport with less than 3000 feet of runway. Is there a safe way to join the fray and keep your schedule, or should you divert even though it means disappointing everyone?

Dean Showalter: A&P / IA, CFI

Sometimes it’s obvious you must land right away…like today when your turbo normalized engine rolls back to low power without any input from you. The less obvious choice comes when the problem seems to go away. Do you stick with your plan to divert, or do you press on tentatively, ready to land as needed?

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

You’re cleared to land following a stop-and-go training airplane. That airplane does its “stop” when you turn final, but appears unhurried about conducting the “go.” Now you’re on short final, and it seems you’re the only one concerned that there could soon be two airplanes on the same runway. Is this a problem you need to solve?

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Some pilots won’t fly VFR at night because there are just too many traps when you can’t see the terrain. You don’t have an Instrument Rating, but you know some of the procedures. Would it be wiser to use a “bit of IFR” to make a safe departure or rely on your VFR experience plus a moving map?

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

Emergencies are equal-opportunity hunters: They’ll strike high-time pilots and newbies alike. Now you’re alone in an airplane with under 50 hours of total time—and an engine that’s out of control. What are the risks and tradeoffs given four different plans to get this airplane on the ground? Can you adjust the plan on the fly?

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Your mission is ferrying the club airplane 350 miles to a paint shop. If it’s not there by tomorrow morning, your next chance to get in the queue for painting will be months from now. Is high wind and turbulence enough to scrub this flight, or is there a safe way to make it happen?

Catherine Cavagnaro: 2020 FAA Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year

You’re at an airport where joining a full pattern is just SOP. Then, a bird ends its days by punching an actual hole in your windscreen. However, the airplane is still flying, and the rest of the Lexan is holding. Will you make everyone get out of your way, or will you find a quieter place to land?

Mark Kolber: CFII & Aviation Attorney

What should have been a routine flight gets an unexpected twist: Tower clears you to land on a runway you don’t feel is safe but won’t clear you to land on one that looks much better. Will you go with the clearance, insist on your preference, or make an impromptu change at night and in busy airspace?

Bob Nardiello: DPE, CFI of the Year

All you wanted was a day at the beach. Instead, you’re airborne in an airplane lacking a primary flight control. An air traffic controller helped you pick an airport for landing and has people standing by. Now you must configure the controls that remain and decide which technique gives you the greatest chance of walking away.

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

Many times the decision isn’t “go/no-go” so much as “how to go?” Instead of risk versus reward, you’re weighing a safe but boring option against something more appealing yet less squarely in your comfort zone. How will you square the issues of traffic, airspace, weather, low-altitude flight, and potential anxiety in this trip through NYC?

Elaine Kauh: Six-time Master CFI with over 3800 hours of dual given

You stayed clear of growing thunderstorms on the way home so far, but during a needed break for fuel and food, they’ve caught up. Now a cell threatens your departure. If you can get airborne quickly, you’ll get ahead of the weather and home. If you can’t, you might not fly out until tomorrow.

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Going with the flow has advantages, but an acceptable risk for one pilot can push the envelope for another. However, standing up for your needs might add risk for someone else. Do you try to fit in and see how it goes, simply do your own thing despite the crowd, or create a maneuver on the fly?

Kevin Plante: FAA ATC Specialist, Commercial Single/Multi-Instrument

There’s an astronomical event your family has been anticipating all year, and your Cirrus is the ride to the perfect viewing spot. The forecast for this evening couldn’t be more clear. That’s perfect for stargazing—but also perfect for fog settling in and complicating the trip back home. What’s your hedge against a late-night surprise?

Elaine Kauh: Six-time Master CFI with over 3800 hours of dual given

It seemed like a good idea at the time: Expand your comfort zone with busy Class C airspace by meeting your friend at Fort Lauderdale International. Now you’re sandwiched between a stream of incoming jets thinking there’s wake turbulence you can’t see but must avoid. How will you avoid turning upside-down when you turn final?

Paul Bertorelli: ATP/CFII, Aviation Editor

The worst has actually happened and now your Cessna is twisted aluminum on the hillside. Everyone is OK for the moment, but daylight is waning and a storm is predicted for midnight. Given the altitude of the accident, that storm might bring snow. Is there any way you can get rescued sooner with minimal extra risk?

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

What’s so hard about a little formation flying? Does it matter if there’s also air-to-air photography? A request that started simply has ever-growing implications for airspace complications and collision hazards. Is there a way to dial back the expectations or build up the required skill to make a flyable mission or is this simply too much?

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Airframe icing in the winter months strikes fear into the hearts of IFR pilots, but you thought VFR meant this was a non-issue. Now circumstance has proved that wrong. What’s your choice for the best destination airport and landing technique given you’ll be a bit of a test pilot before this flight is over?

John Krug: CFII, FAA ATC Instructor & QA Specialist

You’re approaching an airport with a student and think the airplane ahead of you is confused—and has misled the tower—and may enter a busy traffic pattern against the flow. Will you speak up?

Dave Hirschman: ATP/CFII, Aerobatics Instructor

You’ve read about stall/spin accidents where people try to cheat a turn. But aren’t you safe bending the rules a bit when you’re well above stall speed and descending? Especially in a spin-resistant airplane?

Tom Turner: NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

It’s a short flight to a familiar airport you’ve done many times before. But, all of those were in the daytime when the hills on both sides were easy to see. Now a moonless night adds a substantial level of uncertainty. Will technology tempt you to make this approach in the dark?

Wally Moran: DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

You made a series of reasonable decisions in the name of comfort and safety, only to create a situation where you’re tight on both fuel and options. Will you wager your last hour of fuel on making just one landing at the airport beneath you or take the chance on making it to an alternate?

Richard McSpadden: Executive Director of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, Former USAF Thunderbird Leader

You want to practice crosswind takeoffs and landings and one of Belen’s runways is perfectly across the wind. However, two other pilots are set on landing into the wind on the crossing runway. Is there a safe way to fly cross-purposes, or must you simply go with the flow?