Recreational Hazards

This past week two aircraft crashed enroute to Fun 'N Sun in Florida, and caught my attention beyond the usual "...ask not for whom the bell tolls..."

A Zenair 601 crash is of interest because it is similar to my own aircraft. When any aircraft from an airliner to a Piper Cub crashes, until the cause is proven, there is always concern among fellow fliers of that model aircraft that a design, construction or procedural flaw may be stalking them too.

A second crash involved a Glassair aircraft and a pilot from a nearby town who is well-known at the local flying club. He apparently encountered some bad weather enroute which may have contributed to this one.

Aircraft are better-designed now than at any time in aviation history and pilots are generally very safety conscious. But at some point we have to face facts. Flying is more dangerous than sitting at home in our living rooms. That's part of what makes it attractive - not the danger - but the challenge for pilots to exercise risk management skills to minimize the dangers while experiencing the larger reality of speed, altitude and freedom of movement. And making it all work is part of the awesome sense of accomplishment pilots experience.

Aviation can be a hard teacher, and our normal human tendency to make mistakes in this foreign element often results in serious injury or death. I'm guessing it will ever be thus. So to those colleagues who have recently "flown west," Happy Landings! And continued adventures in your new sky.