I guess that I'm bordering on bad taste to air this out but maybe some of the newer pilots can learn something. In the past week we have had a spate of crashes in this area, all general aviation, all avoidable. The first was a fatal at a large international airport where a pilot tried to land in thick fog. The approach was on line but WAY short and the airplane contacted the ground hard and went through a cyclone fence killing the pilot who, I was told, was not an IFR rated pilot. There are at least 4 or 5 alternates within 50 miles that were clear. The second was a case of engine trouble. The pilot got on the cell phone to call for help from a spouse and forgot about flying the airplane. The resulting stall-spin killed all on board. The airplane impacted and stuck in the ground like a peg in a smooth, clear, expanse of land ...kind of like a BIG two mile wide airport. Remember one of those silly aviator commandments. " Thou shalt maintain airspeed lest the earth arise and smite thee." I don't make fun of things like this but I get perturbed when there are ways to avoid them. Like good instruction and the right attitude when flying an airplane. Switches
Switches, it's always a good idea to review mishaps. A good pilot learns from his mistakes, a better pilot learns from the mistakes of others. Complacency and poor planning are two of the most culpable accident scenarios in my book. Practicing skills keeps one in fit shape for challenges that "crop up". My brother has had two lost engine/off airport landings, and came out fine both times. I've been vectored into fog banks by both Approach and Tower; that is alarming, and requires patience and confidence to manouvre out of. I committed a near runway incursion, and made other, so far harmless miscues. I read accident reports, analyze procedures and generally practice, plan, and fly a very well rehearsed Flight Plan. The number one bogy is continued flight into IMC by a VFR pilot. Get home itis is a killer. Good training and good equipment are essential for fun safe flying.
Anytime I fly into a new airport (new for me), I read the NTSB reports before I even download the approach plates -- good to remind me how often people in the past have screwed up and what kind of screw ups have occurred the most often.
Very Smart to be apprehensive about getting up in the air. I always remember my instructor telling me that an airplane is just waiting for the chance to kill you.
Switches, I, too, have been riled about these types of mishaps for a L O N G time already as well. A significant reason that it riles me is that each and every one of these accidents stands to increase MY insurance rates! You didn't mention the one which raises my hackles the most... Landing with the gear in the wells! I, along with every other retract pilot, repeated the cliche of "them that have and them that will". The good part is that I said it to my instructor. The back of my head still smarts from the smack he gave me with a rolled up sectional. He said, and it has been my mantra ever since for 30 years, "there's them that WON'T! YOU be one of THEM!" Wisdom to be certain. Whenever I speak with new(er) pilots I try and remind them that it is easy to learn how to "operate the aircraft". It takes an awful lot more to become a pilot. We have made tremendous strides in reducing the accident rate over the course of , lets say, the last 15 years however one sees the same kinds of accidents over and over again, as you've pointed out. I believe there is way too much emphasis on the electronics today and way too little emphasis on airmanship. Yes, I know that the costs of getting one's license has increased far beyond any sensible standard, and the costs of new aircraft is nothing short of obsene. As all these costs are passed on to the student it is no surprise that curriculums have been shortened to ameliorate the outlay. There used to be a 250 hour requirement before one could acquire their instrument rating and I though that this was a good idea and a reasonable time for a pilot to begin to become quite comfortable with flying and operations within the national airspace system. I don't quite recall when and by how much but I know that it was reduced some time ago. Perhaps there is not enough emphasis placed on distractions to the pilot. I know that it is required to be taught but as you pointed our in the initial issue with the engine out/cell phone issue as well as many other distraction type accidents it bears more emphasis in the curriculum. Lastly, we have made great strides in the area of psychology in the recognition of the 6 (I believe) personality types, each of which has its hazardous pitfalls. You know the studies. The fatalist, the anti-authority, the super confident, etc. All pilots should review these studies and honestly assess themselves as to their behaviors and risks of those behaviors. I hope some of these things are just aborations and that the accident rates will continue to improve. As another cliche states: "If you think safety is expensive, try paying for an accident." Putting soapbox back in the closet. Planeflyr
