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Aftermath: Interfaces

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • An instrument-rated pilot crashed an RV-10 in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) due to severe disorientation and loss of aircraft control, despite having significant instrument flight experience.
  • The NTSB identified the pilot's lack of familiarity with the RV-10's modern glass panel instrumentation and the aircraft's specific handling characteristics as key contributing factors.
  • The article suggests that increasing anxiety, combined with the unfamiliar cockpit environment during challenging IMC, likely exacerbated the pilot's incapacitation and inability to perform basic instrument maneuvers.
  • The author also points to potential shortcomings in air traffic control's assistance, noting that a less-than-helpful suggestion added to the pilot's overwhelming and deteriorating situation.
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(April 2011) If the souls of the pilots whose untimely ends are chronicled in NTSB accident reports could be assembled for a focus group on accident prevention, some would say of their final flights, “Yes, I was really asking for it. I should have seen that accident coming from a mile away.” Others would still be scratching their heads and wondering “What went wrong? It should have been so simple!”

In the latter category, I suspect, would be the pilot of a Van’s RV-10 who crashed in April 2008 on the way from Lebanon, Tennessee, to Lakeland, Florida, for the Sun ’n Fun fly-in.

Peter Garrison

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.

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