Are You SAFE?

We are all familiar with the acronym I.M.S.A.F.E. It is an assessment of the pilot's condition before flight. Let's look at each of the letters individually.

I = Illnesses. Do you have any illnesses, a cold, or severe allergies that would inhibit your decision-making capabilities or motor skills? If you do, you probably should not be flying.

M = Medications. Are you taking any prescription or non-prescription medication? Prescription medication needs to be cleared by your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). Non-prescription medication -- although it may not cause any adverse side effects while you are firmly planted on terra firma -- may cause adverse side effects at altitude. Non-prescription medicine also needs to be cleared by your AME.

S = Stress. Are you under any kind of stress? Did you just lose your job, are you going through a divorce, do you have an extremely sick child? If so, you should not be flying, as your mind will not be focused on the tasks at hand.

A = Alcohol. How long has it been since you had your last drink? Remember the eight-hour bottle-to-throttle rule. In addition to that don't forget the 0.04% blood alcohol content. Even though it has been longer than eight hours since your last drink, depending on how much and what you drank, your blood alcohol level may still be higher than 0.04%. And I don't know about you, but I don't even want to walk with a hangover let alone do something like fly.

F = Fatigue. Were you up early and worked all day and now you're planning a three-hour flight at 0-dark-30? Were you awake all night tossing and turning, thinking about that important meeting with that client that you have to meet tomorrow, which requires you to be airborne by 6:00 a.m. to meet him at 11:00 a.m.? Are you really as sharp as you could be?

E = Emotions/Eating. Are you mad because you just had a fight with your boss? When was the last time you ate? If you are planning a four-hour flight and plan to be airborne by 3:00 p.m. and you haven't had anything to eat or drink since 7:00 a.m., watch out. The combination of being low on hydration and having low blood-sugar levels can set you up for extremely poor performance.

The number-one job as a pilot is risk management. This task can never stop. Use the P.A.V.E. checklist prior to flight and then use the C.A.R.E. checklist while in flight. Pay attention to your gut feeling and instinct. Never, ever give up or resign that there is no hope. As long as you are still flying, there is always hope. Always look for ways to learn more by attending seminars and flying with an instructor more often that just once every 24 months as required by regulation. Take some specialty training. Always look for ways to broaden your educational horizons.

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