Partner-in-Command:
Surviving Pilot Incapacitation

This course is focused on pilot incapacitation and the resulting emergency procedures - important information. However, I do wish they had a course about the role of a PIC helping a pilot WHILE he is “capacitated”, as this is an important risk management topic and a missed training opportunity. More about this in another post!

I attended my first COPA PIC course in June, 2016, one year after delivery of our SR22. It was perfect timing, as I had some flying time and lots of concerns and questions. Although I had gone through the simulator CAPS pull experience at the factory in Duluth at the time of purchase, it didn’t really sink in until I had more time in the right seat.

The instructor was Michael Bush, a local Pennsylvania pilot. He was professional and highly prepared. He started the class with a joke, always a sign of a seasoned presenter. “When you walk into a room you can tell a pilot, but you can’t tell him much.” Great ice-breaker since the class was 100% female.

Next, we introduced each other and described our experiences as a PIC. They ranged from a girlfriend on her first flight to an experienced wife on her 12th PIC course!

I take copious notes in my traveling sketchbook (complete with drawings). I will present the highlights here and talk more about the specific points in other posts, otherwise this one will turn into a book 🤪.

On pilot incapacitation:

First try to wake up. Shake and punch “the big lug”. As with all emergency procedures, he recommended we practice this often. I did like his sense of humor.
Next, move him off the controls. Be sure he is not impeding the operation of the airplane. Pull the seat back (practice practice practice!).
Is it hypoxia? Is it carbon monoxide poisoning? Know the signs and how to correct.
Is he choking? Practice the Heimlich method from the front or side. P.S. Just don’t eat in the airplane, eliminates this risk. Although it is OK for you if you are hangry.

Using CAPS (the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System) was of course a huge part of the course. He handed around a pull lever so we could feel what that was like (in my next course there were computer simulators) and gave each attendee a placard on a lanyard with the procedures listed and instructed us to wear them while flying. Um, it usually doesn’t match my shoes so I just keep it in the side pocket and review during flight.

Handling the autopilot and audio after a CAPS pull was well covered and too technical to dive into here, but be assured it is explained at a level that we can understand and use.

A topic that resounded with me as we fly from the east coast to the west coast often is that, if you have time, really consider where you are going to pull CAPS. It is best to be near an airport since they typically have emergency response teams on the ready.

Also, always wear shoes and clothing that anticipates a CAPS pull. I think about this when we are flying over the western terrain, as I am usually dressed for Southern California weather and that would not work well on a mountain top in New Mexico.

He also emphasized that it is not just about getting down, but also about getting found. Learn about your emergency locator beacon - where it is, how to enable it and how and when to test it. Carry a personal locator beacon too.

An overriding theme of the course is that we must practice what we learn. We may never need these procedures, but just knowing them gives us another level of comfort in the right seat. As Michael Bush says: Rehearsal is Empowerment!

Have you attended a COPA PIC course? What were your takeaways and would you go again? I did, and it was not nearly as memorable…more about this in another post.

I am attending my third course in September at the 2021 Migration in Socttsdale, AZ and am looking forward to the knowledge refreshment.