Icarus Series #3: Flying Too Close To The Sun
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Icarus was so enchanted by flight that he failed to heed his father’s warnings and crashed into the sea. He became hypnotized; drunken by his senses. He flew too close to the sun and melted his wings.
How many of us have found ourselves in this state? So enthused by the gift of flight that we completely dismissed any of the risks involved.
AOPA did an article in 2008 about Mark Strub. Four years earlier Mark was giving rides in his Stearman during a balloon rally in Wisconsin. His last ride of the day was with Kimberly Reed. Unfortunately something went terribly wrong. Mark made the impulsive decision to fly low over an unfamiliar section of river, resulting in hitting power lines. They crashed into the river and Kimberly was trapped in the front cockpit by the collapsed upper wing. This event took her life and left Mark forever consumed by guilt.
Stripped of his license, Mark’s wings were melted for good. His life was spared, but scarred forever. He also has the distinction of being the first pilot to be criminally convicted for a domestic aircraft accident. I encourage you to check it out – it’s a chilling read.
LINK: http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2008/July/1/After-the-Accident
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude. I have done plenty of things that involved risk. But we must remember the choices we make affect others as well. Mark’s choice that day ended a women’s life, destroyed his, and put our freedom of flight at risk.
What compels us to put ourselves into harm’s way? Certainly it’s not intentional. Is it arrogance? Is it naivety? Ignorance? Do we just become so consumed that we can’t see the forest for the trees? Is it the “bad things only happen to other people” mentality? There’s a lot of behavior science you could interject here, but my money is on raw impulsiveness. I don’t believe pilots are naive or ignorant – they might be a tad arrogant. I believe most of these kinds of accidents are just risks that were taken without any forethought – completely impulsive.
We should seek to enjoy flying and all that comes with it, but only fools ignore the risks. It is not as safe as driving a car. It does require special training and skills to do well. And sometimes even that isn’t enough. Mark flew too close to the sun that day, let us learn from his mistake as to not repeat it.
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Wow, Mark’s story really puts things in perspective! I would hope that everyone who gets behind the flight controls of ANY aircraft would have enough maturity and common sense to follow pertinent regulations and operate the aircraft within the domain of their individual abilities and limitations. We don’t need anyone else losing their wings…we’re already a small enough pool of pilots as it is. Thanks for the read!
Rob,
Thanks!
It’s a pretty extreme example, but one that should hit home with a lot of us. I know when I was younger, I nearly did the same thing (no passenger). Scared the crap out of me. That cured me of at least some of my impulsiveness.
Brent
I remember that accident. A very sad situation, indeed. I don’t understand the way the FAA prosecuted him, calling a stretch of open, uninhabited river a “congested area” and busting him for accepting an $8 donation someone foisted on him after a flight. He was giving people rides in his plane out of sheer love of flying.
I mean, the guy works his whole life in order to achieve the dream of owning and flying that Stearman. He worked his way up to it, restored the airplane completely, and then he lost the plane, his certificate, he’ll probably lose his business and his home and everything else he has or ever will have in the civil case, and I’m sure he’ll think of the accident every day for the rest of his life, too. At some point you probably end up wishing you had died in the crash.
The decision to fly along river that day may have been a bad one, but this prosecution of pilots, controllers, mechanics, and others is even worse. You make one mistake in this kind of atmosphere and your life is over even if you’re still alive. No wonder people don’t find aviation attractive. No wonder they don’t want to take anyone flying.
Ron,
That is so true. It was a big deal to see a pilot jailed – sets a disturbing precedence. The whole thing was a mess and the regulators made bad matters worse, in my opinion. Not sure if the alphabet groups did anything to try and stop it, or if they just reported on it.
Brent