John Zimmerman, president of Sporty’s, recently penned an essay in Air Facts, where he’s also editor-in-chief. The essay’s title— “Ignore the YouTube crash detectives—it’s usually pilot error”— tells you pretty much everything you need to know about it. John’s specific lament is that, “When a high performance airplane crashes in IMC, the self-proclaimed experts on social media quickly spin elaborate theories about autopilot failure, in-flight icing, structural failure, carbon monoxide poisoning, or some other incredibly rare cause.” But when “the NTSB report comes out a year later, it’s almost guaranteed the cause will be ‘the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of airplane control.’”
In my 20-year experience as this magazine’s editor-in-chief, I agree wholeheartedly. Loss of control—either resulting from the pilot inadvertently entering IMC, maneuvering (especially at low altitude) or losing situational awareness—seems to factor into the vast majority of accidents. The only addition I’d make to John’s discussion is the likelihood that an aircraft won’t fly very long or far without an adequate supply of fuel, and pilots seem to need a reminder every so often.
