Yet despite what the FAA and common sense tell us, pilots are human above all else and as a result are sometimes the victims of our own mythology. It should come as no surprise that showing off contributes to a significant number of general aviation accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board�s ledgers contain some 130 crashes in which �ostentatious display� was involved. These are not the spectacular airshow tragedies periodically shown on the evening news, but obscure, quiet catastrophes happening in backyards, private airstrips, and small towns every- where. Some pilots insist on pushing beyond the capabilities of themselves and their machines, apparently with the sole intent of impressing someone in the airplane or on the ground. All too often, these seemingly innocent lapses in judgment carry fatal consequences, and each investigation represents an unflinching reminder that good people can die because of horseplay.
The term ostentatious display was developed for the NTSB coding manual to categorize a specific type of pilot behavior associated with incidents or accidents. The coding manual also includes numerous other human characteristics known to cause accidents, including depression, emotional reaction, and panic. All stand shoulder-to-shoulder as separate but potentially equal liabilities in the cockpit. �We can�t code every type of human behavior,� said Dennis Jones, a safety specialist with NTSB. �But we do find that pilot error generally falls into tangible categories like these.�
No sweeping generalizations can be applied to pilots who show off. The who, what, where, when, and why of each accident is largely unpredictable. Investigations have suggested that the urge to show off can stem from anger, ego, controlled substances, and, yes, a misguided effort to test one�s personal limits in front of an audience.
While all pilots may be vulnerable to such impulses, we shouldn�t assume that the community as a whole suffers from an irrepressible need to impress others. Jefferson Koonce, director for the Center for Applied Human Factors at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, says there are too many responsible pilots to ascribe some all-encompassing maverick profile to the flying populace. He debunks the barnstormer myth by saying, �It�s more of an individual thing. Why does anyone seek attention? Insecurity? A John Wayne syndrome? It�s all relative to the pilot in question.�
While there may be no universal reasons why pilots show off, there are decided common denominators in the resulting accidents. For example, one cruel undertone common to many ostentatious display accidents is that friends and family are often watching. Pilots have been known to summon loved ones from their homes either by prior arrangement or by flying low enough to draw their attention. One pilot flew his Cessna 150 so close to his girlfriend�s home that she could hear his voice as he shouted down from the cockpit. He loitered in the area and eventually stalled the aircraft, striking a utility pole in the neighborhood. This and similar incidents have drawn families into the investigative process, leaving inspectors in an awkward and unenviable position.
�Interviewing witnesses is always a sensitive issue,� said Jones. �Whether they were close to the pilot or not, they may nonetheless be traumatized by what they�ve seen. In either case, their accounts are too valuable to be overlooked.�
In many cases, friends and family members are not only witnesses but victims as well. It is perhaps their very presence in the cockpit that inspires some pilots to overextend themselves. This may have been the case when a groom and his best man died while performing chandelles over a relative�s home hours before the wedding.
Koonce believes that peer pressure or the search for adulation can inspire overconfidence in pilots. �Judgment becomes lost when pilots attempt to harvest the attention of all those around,� he said.
Perhaps even more vexing than those who perform for an audience are the pilots who seem to show off for no reason at all. In 1988, a lone pilot apparently tried to fly through the spray of an agricultural sprinkler, failed to negotiate a set of power lines, and crashed in a field. Witness testimony and forensic investigation pointed to the fact that this 2,600-hour pilot had only reckless �fun� in mind�the futility of which was evident only after the fact.
Witness accounts and apparently overt intentions do not, of themselves, lead to a finding of ostentatious display. �No matter what the apparent cause of the crash, we approach each one without prejudice,� Jones said. �Sometimes in cases of ostentatious display we are aided by the testimony of the survivors or witnesses, but even then we must rule out all other factors before arriving at such a conclusion.�
While there may be some defamatory association with a finding of ostentatious display, the NTSB says neither pilots nor relatives have ever formally disputed the conclusion. This may be because of the thoroughness of each investigation, but it may also be that the pilot had a reputation for such behavior before the accident. In such cases, other examples of rogue behavior mean that family and friends aren�t entirely surprised when the individual simply goes too far. It is not unusual to find witnesses who say that pilots involved in these kinds of accidents routinely performed a particular, aggressive maneuver before the actual crash. For example, in Van Horn, Texas, a student pilot and his passenger were killed while performing aerobatics. This same student�s privileges had been suspended in the past for just this type of unauthorized activity.
Although it would seem that young, untested pilots would be especially prone to showing off, the evidence suggests otherwise. One of the ironies of ostentatious display accidents is the number of high-time pilots involved. While you might assume that seasoned pilots would be moderate, restrained professionals, they nonetheless account for the majority of these accidents. Nearly 60 percent of airplane crashes involving ostentatious display were caused by pilots with more than 500 hours. In one extreme case, a retired airline pilot with more than 33,000 hours died in a crash while trying to perform a spontaneous barrel roll over a group of his peers. While this may have been a maneuver he�d performed successfully before, this tragedy seems to prove the old saying that there are no old, bold pilots.
�A pilot with more experience might attempt these maneuvers because he or she is emboldened with the self-confidence brought by years of experience,� said Koonce. �In short, like any other skill, the more they perform it, the more complacent they become.�
Although no single type of individual is necessarily inclined to show off, there is one noteworthy dynamic among these mishaps: All ostentatious display accidents have occurred with males at the controls. This may be a function of the fact that more than 90 percent of all pilots are men or it may be a product of the more aggressive male psyche.
Kathleen McFadden, a professor of operations management at Northern Illinois University, conducted an extensive study of pilot-error accidents in the airline industry and found no statistical difference in the error rates between male and female pilots. �Despite whatever notions people may have about male and female pilots, this supports the basic premise that human error knows no sexual boundaries in commercial aviation,� she said. The all-male composition of pilots involved in ostentatious display accidents, McFadden says, may be the result of the sheer number of male pilots. �Whether flying professionally or for pleasure, there are simply more males in the sky than females,� she said.
So what is to be learned from these accidents? How can pilots avoid being lulled into overconfidence in their abilities? Jones believes that restraint is required in all pilots, and when in doubt pilots should favor safety over spectacle. �Flying in itself carries a certain risk. Showing off, especially with poorly planned maneuvers, only invites trouble. The pilot�s thinking more about the impression he�s making than how he�s flying,� Jones said.
While every aviator may have the heart of a barnstormer, it�s comforting to note that most pilots know their limitations, respect the sanctity of the cockpit, and are not influenced by the fleeting adulation of others. Still, a wide variety of seemingly capable pilots have met their end by straying outside the line. Whether their actions were premeditated or spontaneous, their breach in judgment should remind all pilots that human nature can be a dangerous foe and the best time to contemplate that fact is before the flight begins.
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