Stupid Pilot Tricks

While the self-righteous denigrate those who mess up, we shout our barbaric yawp in praise of folly.

pberge

Friday, January 10, 2025 at 10:12 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Many 2021 aviation incidents stemmed from pilot errors, including poor judgment during maneuvers (e.g., low-altitude flying, helicopter operations near obstacles), misidentification of landing surfaces, and inadequate technique.
Several accidents highlighted severe regulatory non-compliance, with pilots operating aircraft without proper certifications, endorsements, or disregard for crucial safety parameters like weight, balance, and appropriate runway length.
The article presents a series of "Stupid Pilot Tricks" across diverse aircraft types, underscoring human factors such as distraction, negligence, and overconfidence as recurring themes in preventable accidents.
The most egregious incident involved a major executive jet attempting takeoff significantly over maximum weight with an uncertified captain, an unqualified first officer, and incorrect aircraft settings, leading to a runway overrun.

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Once again it’s time to review 365 days and sleepless nights of merriment and angst afforded the flying community by those who think “safety first” is the initial rehab step after crashing.

Rules: Any documented goof is fair game, but we don’t shade the dead; might come back to haunt us. We lampoon 2021, the most recent year that NTSB (National Transportation Something Board) provides “completed” analysis of accidents from the year that brought us COVID, Prince Harry, and Megyn.