An insurance company executive mentioned to me the other day that the pilot who worries him most is the one who buys a general aviation piston airplane with the idea he can use it to replace his airline travel. I knew immediately what he meant. The accident record shows thatpiston airplane pilots have very few serious accidents in flight training, and the record is not too bad in local flying, but when pilots start launching on longer trips with a specific schedule in mind, the wrecks start to pile up.
It’s not difficult to imagine why traveling pilots do less well than when the same pilot is flying locally or in training. Pressure to get there on a schedule can cause any of us to depart into conditions we would never consider if we had not committed to be there. This is the oldest news in aviation safety preaching. It’s often called “gethomeitis” but it can just as easily be “get- thereitis” on the outbound leg.
