(This is the first of a four-part series of articles in which contributing editor Fred Simonds will fully explore common, oft-fatal mistakes that we pilots make. This first article merely relates a number of ultimately harmless incidents that will serve as illustrations on which we’ll build in subsequent articles. As I read Fred’s manuscript, I was struck at how truly common some of these incidents really are. As a pilot flying en route high above, I’ve heard some incidents like these unfold. As a pilot down low, I’m forced to admit that at least parts of some of these incidents sound a bit too familiar. In each of these incidents reviewed here, fate (the hunter, remember?) allowed the pilots to complete their flights with no more than injury to their pride or perhaps a serious discussion with the appropriate ATC facility. It’s easy, however, to imagine a darker outcome. You know the old expression, “Live and learn.” Well, another suitable title for this series could be “Learn and Live,” but I wanted to stick with the attention-grabbing, sensational title author Simonds used because, well, it’s simply true. —Editor)
A Visual in IMC
Unusually, Palm Springs International (KPSP) in southern California was socked in with rain and low clouds. And it was night. An aircraft on the VOR-B reported they barely saw the field at circling mins, 2300 feet MSL.
