Training and Proficiency What A CFI Wants You To Know

What to Do When There’s an Accident

After a mishap, there is always a desire to get more information about what happened.

Tuesday, July 02, 2024 at 09:16 AM ET

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A sad reality in aviation is that if you stay in it long enough, there will come a day when you lose someone you know in an accident. [Credit: iStock]

Key Takeaways:

The aviation community must acknowledge the difficult reality of losing colleagues in accidents, like Josh Dierks, and understand the coping processes involved.
After an accident, it's crucial to follow flight school protocols, allow time to process grief and shock, and ultimately reinforce skills through additional training.
In the age of social media, avoid speculating or prematurely sharing accident details; instead, rely on official NTSB reports as valuable learning tools for aviation safety.

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One of the sad parts of aviation is that if you stay in it long enough, there will come a day when you lose someone you know in an aircraft accident. I don’t say this to scare you—I say this to prepare you.

This time of year I find myself thinking about Josh Dierks, killed on July 10, 2006, while flying a Piper Navajo. We worked together as CFIs. He wanted a career at the airlines, so he took a job flying cargo to build his multiengine time. Dierks was flying from Spokane, Washington, to Seattle when, as he approached the Cascade Range, he informed ATC that he was experiencing an uncommanded loss of engine power in both engines.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.