When planning a flight, pilots are trained to prepare for contingencies; minor problems and emergencies will arise at some point throughout every one of our flying careers. We taxi slow enough in case we experience a brake failure. In a single-engine airplane we choose a route of flight from point A to B that will take us over alternate airports or at the very least suitable terrain in case we experience an inflight problem or failure. I personally plan for the worst so that if the event does occur, I have mentally prepared for it.
However, I never planned on experiencing a problem while performing a ‘buzz job;’ I had always assumed it would go right, and up to this point, everything has gone according to plan. But as I looked at contingencies, like I do for each aspect of the rest of a flight, I realized that by flying low to the ground at high speed, I have opened the door for a possible incident or accident to occur. For instance, what if I had taken a bird strike? Would it disable me or the airplane, and how would it impact any person or building on the ground? Could I recover from it? Also, if I were to experience some sort of a mechanical issue or failure, I would have further increased the risk because I would no longer have the altitude to allow me to troubleshoot the problem.
