The Problem With Flight Training

For a long time now, loss-of-control accidents in general aviation have been driven by relatively few but recurring causes pointing to fundamental problems in pilot training. These problems seem national in scope. The NTSBs findings in two recent crashes illustrate the point. One was the fatal stall/spin of an American Champion Decathlon in Oroville, Calif., in October 2005; the other the much-reported crash of a Cirrus SR20 into a Manhattan apartment building in October 2006. In both accidents-the Decathlon involving a high-time ATP, the Cirrus an 88-hour major league baseball player new to aviation-there were common threads. Both reveal systemic errors and omissions in our standard flight training. Methodology, in my estimation. These two accidents vividly show that our training is deficient in teaching stall/spin awareness, cockpit resource management and risk analysis. Why cant we figure this out?

Key Takeaways:

• General aviation loss-of-control accidents are primarily caused by fundamental, national-scope problems in pilot training, often misattributed as simple "pilot error."
• Pilot training is deficient in critical areas such as proper stall/spin awareness, effective cockpit resource management, and the true mechanics of flight control, particularly the elevator's role in turning.
• These training deficiencies lead to dangerous misconceptions, such as "pitch controls altitude," and contribute to high-risk maneuvers like 180-degree turnbacks after engine failure, which the article demonstrates have an alarmingly high fatality rate.

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