AOPA Webpage fatal accident study

[Bill]

The real problem is that there are too many competitors for a Darwin Award in the aviation community and they don't care about the effects on others.

[Pearson]

I agree with David, the flight should have never left the ground. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased, but the pilot should not have taken the risks he did that day. Those who do not have an instrument rating do not realize what is involved in earning that rating. I flew for 10 years as a private pilot with an instrument rating. Then I started doing it for a living. Something that has really stood out in my memory was when the examiner giving me my ATP checkride asked me if I knew what the requirements were for the license. I started telling him about the needed hours and the cross country time, etc. Then he asked me if I knew what FAR 61.153 (C) was. I had no idea. He enlightened me that to obtain an ATP you have to "Be of good moral character". That really struck a chord with me. I told him what a great guy I am and asked how this applied to passing my ATP checkride. The example he gave was something about not going below minimums on an approach. I think he gave a second example, but it has been too many years ago. This guy really made an impression on me, and it motivated me to be the absolutely best pilot I could possibly be. He instilled in me that when a non pilot get into a plane with you, they are trusting you with their lives. Maybe if they had a similar FAR requirement for a private pilot license, it could make an impression on a few people to be more responsible. On another note, the airlines and even corporate flight departments are preaching "risk management" to pilots these days. Maybe a few questions on the private pilot written exam regarding risk management could instill in future pilots the importance of addressing risk.