Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard
this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer
statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of
"there are no old, bold pilots.")
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you
may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be
something we might never have considered before, or something that
didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized
it for the practical test.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you
through the Aero-News Network.
Aero-Tips 09.17.06
We've been reviewing what the FAA calls five "hazardous pilot
attitudes" -- mindsets that can affect decision-making and lead to
mishaps. We've reviewed the anti-authority and impulsive pilot,
touching both on the negative and potentially positive outcomes of
these personality traits. Today we'll look at the invulnerable
pilot.
Invulnerability is the feeling that "it can't happen to me." How
many times have you heard or read a first-hand account by the
survivor of an aircraft accident, and the pilot expresses that
he/she knew things were excessively risky but thought they had
extra skills or experience to handle what others can't? How often
have you learned a well-known or highly experienced pilot has
crashed and wondered how he/she could have succumbed to the
conditions or equipment failure?
How often do the "guys at the airport" say "he was such a
careful pilot" when interviewed by reporters after a crash?
A survey conducted by Sporty's Pilot Shop and a popular aviation
magazine several years ago revealed that something like 90% of all
pilots think they are "above average". Either a few pilots are
really bad, bringing down the average... or more likely most pilots
have a somewhat exaggerated sense of their flying ability.
Good outcomes
I find the invulnerability trait is strong in me. It's very easy
to downplay an aircraft squawk or a lack of currency by
rationalizing "I've got the special skills needed to handle
this."
The take-away is that by recognizing this -- or finding myself
making a rationalized decision instead of objectively looking at
facts and conditions -- I can step back and examine my decisions
more carefully. I know this realization prompts me to look more
closely at the airplane during preflight inspections and
acknowledge squawks, to use checklists to back-up my flying
technique and procedures, and to cautiously brief all instrument
and visual landings. I do all this because I know I'm not
invulnerable.
You too can turn the trait of invulnerability into something
positive if it helps you remain focused on what is, not how you
want things to be, and fly accordingly.
Aero-tip of the day: Unfortunately, it can
happen to you…unless you take active steps to avoid the
hazards of false invulnerability.