What is Pilot Error?

J. Mac McClellan

Monday, July 16, 2001 at 08:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The author argues that "pilot error" is a misapplied term, especially in personal aviation, asserting that true errors are rare and occur almost exclusively in highly regulated transport-category flying where extensive redundancies and procedures address every foreseeable circumstance.
In highly regulated transport aviation, an "error" constitutes a failure to follow a meticulously designed procedure that, if executed correctly, guarantees a safe outcome for a foreseeable event.
Incidents in personal aviation, often labeled "pilot error," are more accurately "pilot decisions," reflecting individuals balancing risks and rewards due to less inherent redundancy, fostering a better understanding of risk management and informed choices.

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I’m sick of the term “pilot error.” A true pilot error is a rare event. But what is so often labeled a pilot error is actually a pilot decision that didn’t result in the outcome expected by the pilot, the regulators or the public.

Real pilot errors can only occur in transport-category airplanes that are being flown to the FAR Part 121 standards that govern the major airlines. This type of flying is the safest that we know how to do, or at least is the safest tradeoff our society is willing to make when it compares risk to financial costs and convenience. Business jet operators may choose to fly their transport-category airplanes to an even higher safety standard than the airlines, and many do.