Redefining What it Means to Be a 'Lazy Pilot'

At a certain point, when a pattern becomes so repetitive with zero deviation, you stop looking for the change. It’s confirmation bias at its worst.

Ben Younger

Monday, January 09, 2023 at 04:20 PM ET

Verified

The author, pictured with his Bo, learns a valuable preflight lesson and redefines the term 'lazy pilot.' [Courtesy: Ben Younger]

Key Takeaways:

The author redefines the adage "a lazy pilot is a good pilot," arguing that true laziness (complacency) can be dangerous, not beneficial.
During a landing, the aircraft pitched up aggressively because the flaps failed to extend due to a popped circuit breaker, which the author initially misdiagnosed.
The incident highlighted the author's confirmation bias during the preflight inspection and failure to visually confirm flap extension, despite feeling prepared.
The experience underscores the critical need for constant vigilance and attention to detail, even in routine procedures, to prevent subtle failures from escalating.

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They say a lazy pilot is a good pilot. This adage has always rubbed me the wrong way. I understand the underlying meaning: You should always be ahead of the airplane. So much so that you’ve imagined every possible outcome and simply cannot be surprised, thereby rendering you an inert lump in the left seat.

The problem for me is I can never move past the word itself. Lazy: not liking or willing to act or work. I can readily think of times where I have been a lazy pilot in a more traditional sense of the word, and it was not a great look. Or a great outcome.