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Aftermath: Interfaces

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • An instrument-rated pilot crashed a Van's RV-10 after becoming disoriented and losing control during 14 minutes in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC).
  • Key contributing factors included the pilot's unfamiliarity with the aircraft's advanced glass panel instrumentation, despite significant instrument experience in a conventionally equipped airplane.
  • The pilot's indecision, repeated altitude/heading deviations, and mounting anxiety were compounded by an unhelpful response from Air Traffic Control during a critical moment.
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(April 2011) If the souls of the pilots whose untimely ends are chronicled in NTSB accident reports could be assembled for a focus group on accident prevention, some would say of their final flights, “Yes, I was really asking for it. I should have seen that accident coming from a mile away.” Others would still be scratching their heads and wondering “What went wrong? It should have been so simple!”

In the latter category, I suspect, would be the pilot of a Van’s RV-10 who crashed in April 2008 on the way from Lebanon, Tennessee, to Lakeland, Florida, for the Sun ’n Fun fly-in.

Peter Garrison

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.

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