The pilot, 65, had 33,000 hours. He had retired six years earlier as a 777 captain after a 36-year career in airline flying. He was a CFI-I and ATP with ratings in a slew of Boeing and Lockheed types, and was an air-frame and power-plant mechanic to boot.
Aftermath: Scud Run
Key Takeaways:
- A highly experienced pilot, despite his qualifications and recent instrument proficiency check, crashed his Aero Commander into terrain while attempting to fly VFR through deteriorating weather in the Banning Pass.
- The pilot initially landed short due to bad weather but then chose to depart VFR the next morning into adverse conditions, flying dangerously low and only requesting IFR clearance moments before impact.
- The article attributes the accident not to a single poor decision, but to a process of "decision creep," where a series of small, incremental decisions made in progressively worsening conditions normalized increasing levels of risk, ultimately leading to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).
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