The Tragic Day When a Pilot Was Literally Flying Blind

Oregon incident can teach us all an important lesson in being honest with yourself.

Friday, December 10, 2021 at 09:59 AM ET

Verified

A pilot wasn't honest about his medical status before flying. As a result, his vision may have been impaired or lost. Credit: Adobe Stock

Key Takeaways:

An elderly pilot, with a history of concealing a medical condition causing temporary blindness and known degraded flying skills, crashed his aircraft after experiencing vision loss mid-flight.
The article highlights a dangerous tendency among pilots to conceal disqualifying medical problems from the FAA, driven by the profound connection between flying and their personal identity.
It explores the difficult "no-go" decision aging pilots face regarding their declining capacities, a judgment often avoided by themselves and their concerned friends or relatives until an accident occurs.

See a mistake? Contact us.

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”

The pilot was 79 years old. He had 1,300 hours, a private certificate, and an instrument rating, but seldom flew. He kept his airplane, a Piper Dakota, hangared at North Bend, Oregon, and would take it out from time to time to fly up and down the nearby Pacific coast. He had logged only 31 hours during the past five years, and he had not had a recent flight review or renewed his medical.