Many aviation accidents, termed "good accidents" due to clear pilot error, result from pilots performing "foolish" or "stupid" actions, such as ignoring IFR procedures, attempting landings in unsafe weather, or engaging in risky maneuvering flights like buzzing.
These incidents occur because pilots often ignore or are simply unaware of the inherent risks involved in their flight planning and execution.
Several tools and checklists like PAVE (Pilot, Airplane, enVironment, External pressures), CARE (Consequences, Alternatives, Reality, External pressures), and TEAM (Transfer, Eliminate, Accept, Mitigate) are designed to help pilots assess and manage flight risks.
While resources like numerical scoring systems and online flight risk evaluators (e.g., AOPA's) aid in identifying potential hazards, the ultimate responsibility for making safe go/no-go decisions rests with the pilot in command.
You’ve given us a litany of accidents in which the pilots did something stupid,” pointed out one of the pilots of the Glens Falls Pilots and Owners Association to which I had just presented a program I call “Good Accidents.”
“Why do pilots do something stupid?” he asked.
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