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By David Domeier |
| The only reason I consider writing something like this is that it causes
me to rethink some of my operating practices and maybe, in the process,
it will stimulate some “re-thinking” for anyone reading it.
It is amazing how many general aviation airplanes crash every month. In reading the NTSB reports for May, I count some 230 crashes and 80 fatalities. That's a lot of grief for families. It reads like a combat report and body count in war. So what's going on? I really do not know. There are experts supposedly promoting aviation
safety but I can not help but wonder how effective it is.
It is nothing new in that “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.” We have very reliable engines today compared to when those words were written, but we still manage to crack up and die in predictable numbers each and every month. So what's to be done? First of all we must never stop thinking about the risk of flight. A regard and awareness of the risk of flight is very healthy. Keep those odds in your favor at all times. Is the airplane mechanically sound? How does the weather look? Then was your last flight? How do you feel? Don't fly if you're mad at someone or otherwise upset. You can not afford to be thinking about anything other than safe flight. Be conservative at all times. Try to know your limits and the limits of your airplane. These are renewal thoughts for me. I love to fly and will continue doing it, and with a little good luck, it will be safe. There isn't much we can do about “bad luck”, it happens to the best of aviators and I think we all accept that risk. But it's the stuff we can control that we need do something about. |