Stupid Pilot Tricks

As a captain for a major airline, my wife gets a lot of questions about flying. ?My job,? she explains, ?is to take the excitement out of flying.? Most passengers don?t want excitement on an airplane ride. For those unaccustomed to flying, the mere act of getting on a jet airliner is excitement enough. They prefer the flight to be smooth, routine, and uneventful. And so the job of the professional pilot is to use his judgment to stay well ahead of the airplane and to make sure nothing too exciting happens.

In contrast to their passengers, pilots generally like excitement, and flying an airplane can be a tremendous thrill. But even air show pilots whose job it is to make flying exciting to spectators don?t like things to get too exciting in the cockpit. As professional pilots, they too must exercise their finely honed judgment. They strive for the highest degree of control, and they train and practice to ensure their personal safety and the safety of their audiences. There are those on whom the concepts of professionalism and safety seem to be lost. For the sake of a thrill or passing excitement, they allow their judgment to lapse. They push the limits, putting themselves, their passengers, and those on the ground at risk. It was about noon on a VFR day in December when a 45-year-old private pilot and his passenger departed Skylark Airpark in Warehouse Point, Connecticut, on a pleasure flight. The pilot made a few touch-and-go landings at a nearby airport, then headed for Northampton Airport in Massachusetts. On the way, they planned to pass over the Quabin Reservoir for some sightseeing. At 2:30 p.m. the wind was calm, and the frigid waters of the Quabin Reservoir were glassy smooth. The pilot decided to drop down and give his passenger a thrill?a close look at the reservoir. The passenger didn?t appreciate the excitement. He was nervous. The airplane was too low for comfort, so he asked the pilot, ?Why don?t you pull up a little bit?? The pilot replied that the view is better down low and sarcastically asked, ?Why, are you scared?? Skimming along above the water, the pilot reached down to adjust the trim. In an instant, the wheels touched the surface and the aircraft pitched into the water and flipped over. The pilot helped get his passenger out of the quickly sinking aircraft. For a short time, the two floated in the paralyzing cold, clinging to the tail of the aircraft for their lives. Then the aircraft slipped beneath the surface. Some hunters on a nearby shore witnessed the crash and dashed off to a deer checking station for assistance. A state trooper and wildlife biologist responded. They rushed to the scene in a 14-foot boat to rescue the two unfortunate souls. It had been 40 minutes since the aircraft had crashed into the water. By the time the rescuers arrived, the pilot had succumbed to the extreme cold and drowned. The rescuers grabbed the passenger and dragged him aboard the boat just as he lost consciousness and slipped below the surface. FAA toxicology tests performed on the pilot were positive for marijuana and cocaine. Flying low over the water isn?t against the federal aviation regulations (FAR 91.119), but it certainly borders on ?careless and reckless? operation referred to in FAR 91.13. And FAR 91.17 is clear?pilots may not operate aircraft while under the influence of judgment-altering drugs, including alcohol. At low altitude, there is little margin for error, and a momentary distraction in the cockpit can quickly alter the complexion of the situation. Although the no-wind conditions may have seemed ideal, any seaplane pilot knows the difficulty in judging altitude above the surface of glassy water. Another tragic accident occurred on an August afternoon at Block Island, Rhode Island, when the 444-hour private pilot of a Cessna A185 amphibian attempted a landing near the beach off the east end of the island. In spite of his training and some 150 hours of seaplane experience, the 52-year-old pilot?s lapse in judgment led to his untimely demise. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident report, the aircraft was 340 pounds over gross weight with a center of gravity forward of limits at the time of the crash. The flight departed the pilot?s private dock in Westport, Connecticut, stopped at East Hampton, New York, where the fuel tanks were topped, and then made the 25-minute trip to Block Island. The pilot was attempting a landing toward an area of rocks and beachgoers, rather than at the adjacent hard-surface runway at Block Island State Airport. The aircraft was 300 to 400 feet from shore when it touched down in a flat attitude and bounced twice. The pilot attempted a go-around, but the aircraft struck telephone lines, skidded off the roof of a vehicle, and slammed into a gas station and restaurant. Without a doubt, the aircraft?s forward center of gravity contributed to the difficulty of the landing, and the excess weight confounded the go-around. A fiery explosion ensued in which the pilot, two passengers, and a driver on the ground were killed. The third passenger died of burns and injuries a short time later. All too often, pilots succumb to the urge to impress others or show off in an airplane. A quick search of the NTSB database reveals that in the past 15 years there have been more than 200 accidents involving buzzing. The stories almost always sound the same, and the results are deadly. A father flying a North American T-28 with his 15-year-old son was buzzing skiers on a mountain pass near Winter Park, Colorado. While executing a turn for a second pass, the aircraft stalled and crashed into trees. The pilot was killed in the crash. A pilot and passenger in a Cessna 172 were buzzing campers, boats, and vehicles in the area of Nevada?s Vegas Wash and the Overton Arm of Lake Mead between 10 p.m. and midnight. The next day, the wreckage of the aircraft was sighted about 150 feet below the crest of a 1,622-foot mountain east of the Overton Arm. Toxicology analyses of the pilot?s and passenger?s blood showed alcohol levels of 0.18 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively. A pilot and passenger in a Piper Cherokee 160 were buzzing a friend?s house near Beedeville, Arkansas, when the aircraft struck power lines. The impact sheared off one wing, sending the aircraft crashing out of control, killing one occupant and seriously injuring the other. The pilot of a Cessna 210 and his three passengers were seen buzzing cars on a highway near Camp Verde, Arizona, when they struck unmarked power lines that spanned the highway. All aboard were killed in the crash. The pilot of a single-engine Grumman AA1A and his passenger were seen performing low-level aerobatics and buzzing recreational areas near LaGrange, Texas. The show ended with a figure-8 maneuver and a fatal stall/spin into a barn. The pilot?s blood alcohol level was 0.156 percent. A young pilot and his passenger were observed buzzing the Sterling Reservoir in Colorado in a Beech F33 Bonanza. Witnesses said the aircraft was skimming the glassy surface of the water when it struck the water, pitched up abruptly, then nosed down and sank. Both the pilot and passenger were killed in the accident. Witnesses observed a Cessna 150 buzzing a farm in Lakeview, Michigan, where a friend of the pilot lived. Following a low pass, the aircraft pulled up into a steep, climbing left turn. At the top of the climb, the nose dropped and the aircraft spiraled into the ground, killing the pilot and his passenger. The list goes on and on. As tempting as it might be to impress friends, passengers, or bystanders with our stick-and-rudder skills, the added excitement of a low pass or buzz often backfires, revealing our weakness rather than our prowess. A better approach might be to demonstrate our excellent judgment in the same way that other professional pilots do: Stay well ahead of the airplane, and make sure nothing too exciting happens. There?s an old saying that goes like this: Superior pilots use their superior judgment to avoid the need for their superior skill. It all boils down to judgment. Whenever that judgment lapses, we?re no longer a superior pilot. We?re an accident looking for a place to happen.