Reckless Flying
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Reckless Flying
With all the emphasis on GA’s accident record, especially the experimental segment, I wanted to discuss “reckless” flying – I put reckless in quotes because it means different things to different people.
Merriam-Webster defines reckless as: marked by a lack of proper caution : careless of consequences.
In my opinion, that definition appropriately frames the issue. It’s also important that we acknowledge the spectrum of reckless behavior that needs to be considered.
If flying is an exercise in risk management, recklessness is intentionally introducing an inordinate amount of risk that otherwise could be mitigated or eliminated.
I know, this is very subjective, but let me give you some examples.
A crop duster spends the vast majority of their life flying in close proximity to the ground. This is a known and necessary risk that is mitigated as much as possible, by training, experience, and the equipment. It might be more risk than many pilots are willing to accept, but no one should consider it “reckless.”
Contrast that to a flight I flew as a much younger man in Central Oklahoma. I was on a cross-country in a C-152 droning along somewhere between Durant and Norman. I spied an unpopulated section of river bisecting my route below. I impulsively chopped the throttle and headed for the deck. I thought flying down the river would be a good way to break up the boredom of my trip. I went ever lower, feeling the sensation of speed. That ‘s when I saw the wires go beneath me by a matter of feet. I reflexively pulled up and out of the river bed and shook most of the way home. Those wire were virtually invisible to me as I skimmed the river at 75′. My logbook shows I had 175 hours total time.
Flying low wasn’t really the reckless act, it was the impulsive nature in which it was executed. Doing it without forethought and no mitigation plan at all (like surveying the river for obstacles prior dropping in).
Another example was provided by a lady airshow pilot I met on Twitter. Her airshow routine requires maximum performance very near the ground. Again this is a calculated, managed risk and when you juxtapose that against a buzz job by a low-time pilot in his hotrod homebuilt, you can see that both are riskier than setting at home surfing the internet, but the airshow pilot manages the risk.
- Carelessly pressing into bad weather
- Flying outside of proficiency
- Being at the controls fatigued or sick
- Knowing you are low on fuel and ignoring it
- Launching with serious mechanical defects
These are all reckless acts – in my opinion. There’s an insidious side to recklessness as well; it becomes an enabler – the more you get away with it, the more you are numb to the risks and potential consequences.
I have known pilots that are at both ends of the spectrum. Some are fearless and only by their skill and luck do they survive. Others are afraid of their own shadow, being so risk averse that they seldom fly and probably are never relax enough to actually have fun.
My personal goal is to accept and manage risk appropriately and still enjoy the ride.
It might be important to ask yourself, “Where are you on the spectrum?”
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A good post, Brent. Your crop duster example is spot on. A non-flying friend who lives on a farm recently said to me, \”those guys are crazy.\” I responded with, \”no, those guys are really careful and really good at what they do.\”
As I read your post, I was reminded of an exchange I once had with a bank executive. Upon learning that I was a pilot (he was helping me with retirement planning, it was bound to come up), he told me that he was a pilot as well. He then proceeded to tell me that he had flown a Citabria under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (spans the Hudson river between Staten Island and Brooklyn). I confess that I must have gaped it him in incredulity. If I admitted something like that around most pilots I know, I would get a lecture, not a pat on the back. Either (1) he actually was a pilot with questionable judgement (in both committing the act and then bragging about it) or (2) he was not actually a pilot, but like many non-flyers views pilots as inherently reckless, and therefore thought that the yarn would impress me. Either way, I decided that he did not need to be managing my IRA!
Chris,
Thanks!
Good that you took your money elsewhere.
Brent
There are risks in pretty much anything we do. I manage risks by not getting too far out of my comfort zone. I would not want to be a passenger in a plane when the pilot utters those two famous words–“watch this”. I enjoy flying from point A to point B, or just back to point A without seeing what kind of tricks my 172 can do. I am not one for flying upside down or anywhere near it!!
Glenn,
Good advise. It might be ok to operate outside your comfort zone, but that’s your first clue that the risk is escalating.
Brent
Great piece Brent. Another bit of trivia for you. To the best of my knowledge today there has never been a fatality in any International Aerobatic Club sanctioned competition. Like the Ag pilots, it is risk management and not reckless.
Thanks Mike! That’s interesting about the IAC – I had no idea.
I’m wondering if it was the biplane stunt buzzing around on YT got you thinking about this? If I was the Fed, his license would be suspended and any low level waiver would not be granted for a very long time. I think those two on the ground had no clue on what was about to happen, and they were lucky. Totally reckless.
Mike,
Actually it was this article here: http://airfactsjournal.com/2013/01/i-cant-believe-i-did-that-1/ that reminded me of when I almost hit those wires down in that river bed that spurred the article.
I do agree that the airshow biplane flyby was reckless.
I love this Brent, got a couple “war stories” myself. Will have to put them together and share. Footnote to the IAC point is it’s very scripted. You fly the program, no bonus points for an extra snap (that’s a zero) or kudos for a buzz job by the judges (you are DQ’d). Unfortunately there have been losses of participants coming from, to and in practices sessions. Thanks for the reply.
Mike,
That would be great! I’d love to hear those stories on the blog!
Brent