Veteran Pilot Warns About Recognizing the Hidden Danger

86-year-old recounts near-disastrous experience with weight and balance.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

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The author says that had he entered a stall spin, the water would have been gone during a postcrash inspection. [Image: Joel Kimmel]

Key Takeaways:

The author experienced a critical near-miss due to an undetected aft center of gravity caused by water accumulated in the tail cone, highlighting the necessity of thorough pre-flight inspections beyond standard weight and balance calculations.
Throughout his extensive flying career, the author learned about significant variations in aircraft performance compared to manuals, the dangers of environmental factors like mesa downdrafts, and the dire consequences of club members flying without adequate training (e.g., instrument rating in IMC).
Instrument training and proficiency proved life-saving when a faulty artificial horizon required him to rely on backup instruments to recover from disorientation, emphasizing its crucial role in aviation safety.

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I obtained my private pilot certificate in 1970 in a Cessna 150. We all remember our first solo. During mine, a United Airlines flight came in and I needed to extend downwind. A little frightening.

My wife followed with her own solo a few years later, for safety for our little family of two children. Rules were different back then, and our first family flight was in that Cessna 150, with no seat belts for our 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter.