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:

• Many general aviation loss-of-control accidents, frequently attributed to "pilot error," are actually "operational errors" stemming from systemic and fundamental flaws in current pilot training methodologies.
• Pilot training is critically deficient in areas such as stall/spin awareness, cockpit resource management, risk analysis, and often provides incorrect instruction on basic aerodynamic principles, particularly the primary control inputs for turns.
• Misguided teaching, like the misconception that "pitch controls altitude and power controls speed," creates dangerous misunderstandings that lead to improper pilot reactions and accidents in critical flight situations.
• The article highlights the extreme danger and high fatality rate associated with attempting 180-degree turnbacks to the runway after an engine failure, a practice compounded by pilots' incorrect understanding of turn dynamics.

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