Yep, it’s time to make fun of those who in 2015 ignored sound judgment and lived to garner pilot lounge derision. And, since pilots tend to repeat the same mistakes in hopes of different results, we heed George Orwell who said, “We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” Since no intelligent man or woman stepped forward, it’s up to me.
Restating The Redundant
About 200 accidents annually are linked to carburetor icing. RPMs drop and the pilot thinks, “Huh, that’s odd,” as power degrades further, rendering carb heat useless. Other repeatable offenses include hot air balloons ejecting passengers on hard landings; ultralights flown by ultraidiots into ultraeverything, and gliders gliding not quite to the runway. Yet, fixed-wing pilots do the most crashing, often with stall/mush accidents in the traffic pattern, failing to recognize deteriorating airspeed or the warning sound of tree branches against gear legs (and that annoying horn). Many pilots assault the runway only to skedaddle into the weeds, dominating NTSB files with no cure in sight.
