FAA releases new episode of safety series for pilots (VIDEO) What is Line up and Wait? Line up and Wait is used by air traffic control (ATC) to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. So, why do pilots depart when they are instructed to line up and wait? The answer lies in a variety of human factors that can lead pilots to mistakenly depart. What are the risks associated with Line up and Wait? In this episode of From the Flight Deck now playing on FAA’s YouTube channel, viewers can explore some real-life events and learn about the factors that contribute to unauthorized takeoff roll when a pilot is instructed to Line up and Wait. What can cause Line up and Wait mistakes? Expectation bias occurs when individuals are primed to receive and interpret information in a way that aligns with their anticipated outcomes, rather than objectively assessing that information. In the case of line up and wait, it is natural to expect a takeoff clearance when holding short of the runway. But if a pilot fails to anticipate that the next logical step could also include line up and wait, what the controller actually said and what the pilot understood may not be the same thing. That expectation bias may be so powerful that it can even override a Lineup and Wait clearance that pilots have read back correctly. Habit intrusion may cause normally practiced steps to be so compelling as to override any ATC communications. For pilots who are not accustomed to performing Line up and Wait, the mere act of taxiing onto the active runway, the act of completing checklist items, or even that view down the runway may be so closely associated with the takeoff roll that performing the takeoff becomes a force of habit. Watch and share this video on YouTube to help pilots learn how to mitigate risks when instructed to Line up and Wait. Additionally, I encourage you to visit the FAA’s From the Flight Deck webpage on General Aviation Safety. There are several other video resources posted on key safety topics such as: Arrival Alert Notices, Holding Short, Wrong Surface Landings, Human Factors, Phraseology, and others.
