Enough is enough
That is absolute insanity.
Don't point your finger at the pilots involved. Point it at the pilots who knew them, who knew they were deficient, and who looked the other way and just said, "Oh, well." Conscientious pilots are the only ones who can keep people like them out of the air.
Similar accidents have occurred for years, and the aviation industry and the FAA have made every effort to correct the situation. Those efforts helped, but education and regulations cannot solve all problems. It takes common sense on the part of those who know problems exist.
I've heard pilots tell one another that "so-and-so should not be flying an airplane." What good does that do? Tell someone who can do something about it. Start with your local FAA Safety Team representative, a name you can obtain from your FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). If there's not one in your area, contact the pilot's insurance broker, if known, or an FAA operations inspector at the FSDO.
You say, I don't want to do that. Of course you don't. Who does? But if this situation continues, general aviation as we know it will cease to exist. We know that aviation is safe, but how about the nonflying population that depends on the media for information? You'll never convince those people that general aviation is safe. The media rely on sensationalism, and to me, that's all they report. My local newspaper has seldom, if ever, reported an aviation accident correctly.
Flight instructors can help. They are trained to recognize the five hazardous traits that should keep an individual out of the cockpit: Anti-authority--"Don't tell me." Impulsivity--"Do it quickly." Invulnerability--"It won't happen to me." Macho--"I can do it." And resignation--"What's the use?" Instructors are trained to make these evaluations during initial training, recurrent training, and flight reviews.
I've terminated training for pilots because of their attitudes, lack of awareness, poor judgment (lack of common sense), or their inability to divide their attention. Those decisions resulted in a loss of income, but I did not want their deaths--or the deaths of others--on my conscience. People who let the power of the dollar override good judgment are fools.
Some aircraft salesmen make me cringe. "Thanks for the check, buddy, you'll really enjoy your new Zoom-8, but I'd recommend that you spend some time with a flight instructor to iron out some of those rough spots." With that statement, the salesman feels that he's done his duty, and he cashes the check with a clear conscience. Sorry, pal, you just turned loose another aviation hazard who probably has no intention of getting a flight instructor. And those little rough spots that you mentioned to clear your conscience were probably areas of total incompetence.
Problems also occur with aircraft owners who are completely removed from the aviation community. They will fly without a current medical certificate, in an airplane that has not been properly maintained, or in total ignorance of the rules. Those situations seldom exist with renter pilots.
A pilot came to our school recently for a flight review. When he made the appointment he was given a flight review packet and told to complete it prior to the review. At the appointed time, the pilot came in but was totally unprepared. He said he did not have enough time to do the examination and was upset that the flight instructor would not give him the answers. So he walked out. I assume that he'll go begging somewhere else and eventually wind up as an FAA statistic.
All pilots must be vigilant for suspicious airport activity and for wayward pilots. Unsafe situations must be reported. Be responsible. Take the initiative and advise someone who has the authority to deal with these problems.
Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying since 1959 and has 25,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.
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