When Gut Instinct Saves the Day: A Pilot's Lesson in Decision-Making

Picture this: a quick overnight getaway to France, a chateau, and the promise of a leisurely flight back home.?

Sounds perfect, right??

Well, sometimes life throws you a curveball, and how you react can make all the difference.?

Let me tell you about a time when trusting my gut saved more than just a trip.

Jules and I had flown to France for one of our cheeky overnight escapes. The weather forecast looked brilliant all weekend, so we hopped on our plane for a quick 20-minute flight to Dinard. From there, we drove an hour south to a charming little chateau. The plan was simple: dinner, overnight stay, then a laid-back flight back the next evening.

Come morning, we woke to an unwelcome surprise - the weather back in Jersey was taking a turn for the worse. Bit of a bummer, as we'd hoped to take our time heading back. No worries, though - we packed up early and hit the road, stopping to stock up on some local wine and cheese (because we were in France, right?).

By the time we reached Dinard airport, things were looking much worse. Visibility in Jersey was dropping fast, and the cloud base was sinking lower by the minute. Now, here's the thing about Jersey's airport - it's not exactly Heathrow. There's no fancy automated landing system for poor visibility. We pilots have to stick to strict minimum conditions, especially when it comes to how low we can descend through cloud before we need to see the runway.

I could see the cloud base getting lower and lower. Sure, I could probably duck under it visually, but that wouldn't leave much room for error. So instead of a straight-in visual approach, I opted for the Instrument Landing System (ILS) - a standard, non-visual radio navigation approach.

Here's where things started to get interesting...

Air Traffic Control vectored us 10 miles east of the island to join the ILS procedure, which meant a longer approach time. On top of that, my backup navigation device couldn't pick up the ILS frequency. Not a deal-breaker, but the voices were starting in my head.

Then all hell broke loose on the radio...

A pilot had just taken off from Jersey and flown straight into the clouds, completely disoriented and not following Air Traffic instructions. To make matters worse, there was a British Airways Airbus on the same approach as us, and the lost pilot was heading right for them. I could hear the BA crew's collision avoidance system blaring warnings in the background.

At that moment, I could see a chain of events unfolding - a chain that could lead to disaster.

What if the lost pilot turned towards us when we were in cloud? What if my primary ILS system failed? The cloud base had dropped even lower, leaving little margin for error. And to top it off, the weather at our alternate airport in Dinard was worsening, and we didn't have much fuel for holding.

My gut was screaming at me...

So I made the call - we were breaking off the approach and heading back to France.

When I told Jules we'd have to spend another night in France, she flashed that brilliant smile of hers and said, "Yay, Dinard Yacht Club for dinner then!" Gotta love her spirit.

You know what? That unplanned extra night turned out to be fantastic. Great food, wonderful wine, and the peace of mind knowing we'd made the right call.

Here's the thing - I probably could have pushed through and landed safely in Jersey. But when that little voice in your head starts ringing alarm bells, you'd better listen.

In aviation, accidents rarely happen because of one big mistake. It's usually a chain of small events that build up. As pilots, we're trained to spot these chains forming and take decisive action to break them.

This mindset has served me well beyond the cockpit...

In business, I've learned to look out for those same chains that might be leading me down the wrong path. A few years back, I walked away from a ￡20,000 investment in a consultant. We were about to sink another ￡100,000 into stock based on their advice, but something felt off. Over the previous five months, things weren't panning out as promised, and little cracks were starting to show.

So we hit the brakes, took a step back, and decided to pull the plug. Was it an easy decision? Hell no. ￡20,000 is a lot of money in any situation. We could have easily chased that particular rabbit down a very expensive hole. But had we not broken the chain, we'd have been out ￡120,000 or more.

The lesson here?

Whether you're in the air, in the boardroom, or just living your life, always be on the lookout for those chains that might need breaking. It's never too late to change course. When you find the courage to say "no more," to trust your instincts and make that tough call, you'll feel a freedom like no other.

Remember, in business and in life, decisions are often reversible, but inaction rarely is.

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is to step back, even when everything in you wants to push forward. It might just save your business, your reputation, or even your life.

So next time your gut tells you something's not right, listen to it. Break that chain. Make the tough call. You might just end up with an unexpected adventure and a great story to tell.

I’m Andy, the Kajabi Guy.

I help coaches build 6 and 7-figure businesses on Kajabi so they can live life on their terms.

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