The Journalistic Enemy of GA Stirkes Again

[Floatsflyer]

This recently aired TV news piece from ABC Nightline makes my blood boil. It's so ignorant, error filled, slanted, biased, unbalanced, poorly edited, frought with misinformation, and all designed to provide a sensationalistic rant on how unsafe GA is. The voice-over commentary/rhetoric provides a distortion of public perception with the intent to scare the s**t out of them.

Once agian, it's irresponsible journalism at its worst and so damaging to our collective passion. The hyperboly of the words chosen in the voice-over will make you want to commit a felony.

The instructor in the story who obviously believed in the best intentions of the reporter when first approached to do the piece on how to recognize and recover from unusual attitudes, must now feel so duped and betrayed because the story was aired as "public beware of the dangerous and frightening aspects of GA". Keep in mind that the instuctor footage was shot a few months ago and then re-edited with inserts of the high profile accidents of the past 10 days. You should also know that the "reporter" is a pilot! He should be ashamed of himself. Nightline, once a pillar of respected and responsible journalism, should be ashamed.

Now go to your windows, open them wide and shout out, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." Better still, can the guys make sure Advocacy sees the piece for any action they may see fit to express. We need to counter this crap!

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/plane-crashes-secrets-staying-safe-avoiding-accidents-18760718

[WLIU]

For what its worth, those folks apply the same jounalistic standards to every other topic. I recall there was some sort of vehicle test where they did something out of the ordinary to get a fire started. I think they might have been sued over that.

If you watch these programs, do not be surprised if your IQ is lower afterwards.

I will suggest that rather than wasting your time watching TV, you should be whittling airplane parts. Much more constructive.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[Victor Bravo]

Please see my thoughts related to this on another thread about "Sport Aviation". This all needs to fall under the same PR campaign, and what we need to do is create a downside for the journalists. They have no downside to unfair reporting, so they do it without a second thought. If you punch me in the nose, and nothing happens, you'll do it again. If I do something after you punch me, then you may think twice before doing it again. A downside (legal, financial, whatever) needs to be created.

Ten thousand letters to the sponsors who advertise on their news show, each containing several box tops or UPC codes cut out of their product packaging, and a vow to remove those products from ten thousand shopping lists, will get the attention of even Procter & Gamble.

There is a possibility of filing a class action suit by 200,000 EAA and AOPA members for "trade libel" or some civilian version of fraud. This would take a dedicated fundraising effort to hire a big enough law firm that frightens the media's law firms. Of a very large pro bono donation by a group of lawyer EAA members if such a group exists. Very expensive but a worthy fight for our own survival.

[Floatsflyer]

I will suggest that rather than wasting your time watching TV, you should be whittling airplane parts. Much more constructive.

Wes
N78PS[/QUOTE]

Can't do that. If we don't monitor the press, voice complaints and displeasure and stay vigilant, then we invite repeated abuses.

[steveinindy]

I recall there was some sort of vehicle test where they did something out of the ordinary to get a fire started. I think they might have been sued over that.

The use of something akin to a model rocket engine to ensure ignition during a "crash test". If memory serves, it was Dateline NBC but don't hold me to that.

[martymayes]

This recently aired TV news piece from ABC Nightline makes my blood boil. It's so ignorant, error filled, slanted, biased, unbalanced, poorly edited, frought with misinformation, and all designed to provide a sensationalistic rant on how unsafe GA is. The voice-over commentary/rhetoric provides a distortion of public perception with the intent to scare the s**t out of them.


Okay, I watched the same clip and didn't have that type reaction. The underlying premise is correct. Ho hum, back to our regulary scheduled programming.....

[Floatsflyer]

Okay, I watched the same clip and didn't have that type reaction. The underlying premise is correct. Ho hum, back to our regulary scheduled programming.....

Fair enough. We all react differently to various emotional stimuli. In your case, could be because of:

a. Don't care
b. Apathetic
c. Ambivalance
d. Seen it so often and numbed by the experience
e. All the above

[cub builder]

Yes, the report was full of inaccuracies, but the jist of what was said was true, although IMHO the accidents were a bit sensationalized in order to prove his journalistic point. If all pilots had some amount of spin and recovery training, they would be better pilots. However, the FAA dropped spin training back in the early 70s because they found that a number of students were dying either with their instructors while doing spin recovery training, or by themselves while practicing spins and recovery. Pilot training was changed to stall recovery and spin avoidance in order to avoid crashes and deaths during training.

On the other hand, while on average, there are 5 aircraft accidents a day in the US, some of which may be fatal, how many fatal car crashes are there nationwide every day? So why isn't that on the NTSBs "Most Wanted" list? Or is it because it then affects everyone rather than a select group?

-Cubbuilder

[martymayes]

Fair enough. We all react differently to various emotional stimuli. In your case, could be because of:

or;

f. I don't see a news report as a reason to go off on a half-cocked rant.

Face it, doesn't take much to show that pilot proficiency is below par. It's doubtful the average pilot can demonstrate the required proficiency for the certificate/rating they currently hold. However, I don't support any demand for higher standards through regulation. That would cause many to drop out of flying and find another hobby. I'd rather see people fly more and let proficiency improve through exercise.

[martymayes]

On the other hand, while on average, there are 5 aircraft accidents a day in the US, some of which may be fatal, how many fatal car crashes are there nationwide every day? So why isn't that on the NTSBs "Most Wanted" list? Or is it because it then affects everyone rather than a select group?

The aviation numbers, when compared to cars, have a higher fatal incidence rate. The old adage about the drive to the airport as being more dangerous simply isn't true when talking about GA. I believe the aircraft fatality rate is on par with riding a motorcycle.

Can it be improved? Not easily. But GA really needs to get it's act together and try. Otherwise, the media will continue to hatchet the industry. Gonna be hard to get support for a libel suit when the statistical part of what they are saying is true.

[Floatsflyer]

Yes, the report was full of inaccuracies, but the jist of what was said was true, although IMHO the accidents were a bit sensationalized in order to prove his journalistic point.

On the other hand, while on average, there are 5 aircraft accidents a day in the US, some of which may be fatal, how many fatal car crashes are there nationwide every day? So why isn't that on the NTSBs "Most Wanted" list? Or is it because it then affects everyone rather than a select group?

-Cubbuilder

Use of the recent accidents in the piece was not just sensational but was also highly irresponsible and biased to illustrate the reporters objective. We know that it's way to early in those investigations to determine causes but despite that fact, the reporter gives the unadulterated impression to the public that they all fell out of the sky because of non-recovery from unusual attitudes.

5 GA accidents a day is just a statistic, the report did not specify causes nor did it want to. Once again, just stated to give the impression that all were caused by non-recovery from unusual attitudes.

Statistically we also know that flying is safer than driving but the non-flying public doesn't know it. Depending on what side of the fence one is on, arguments can and have been made to support or deny the claim. But one thing remains certain IMO, the most dangerous part of flying is driving to and from the airport!

[Floatsflyer]

or;

f. I don't see a news report as a reason to go off on a half-cocked rant.

The media has major clout and influence, positively and negatively, always has, always will. Just because you're not as pissed of as I am, doesn't mean you have to be judgemental. We all have our likes and dislikes. That's why there are menus in restaurants.

[Floatsflyer]

Can it be improved? Not easily. But GA really needs to get it's act together and try. Otherwise, the media will continue to hatchet the industry.

So you agree it was a hatchet job. I believe that's what I was conveying.

[martymayes]

So you agree it was a hatchet job. I believe that's what I was conveying.

No, GA makes itself easy fodder for journalist. Can't blame the news people. GA either needs to clean up it's act or accept the fact they are an easy target.

[martymayes]

The media has major clout and influence, positively and negatively, always has, always will. Just because you're not as pissed of as I am, doesn't mean you have to be judgemental. We all have our likes and dislikes. That's why there are menus in restaurants.

Well, I been watching the news stories on aviation for 40+ yrs now, the negative/positive ratio is about 40:1. Don't think it has influenced any changes because flying has actually become less regulated since I started flying. Perhaps thats why I don't see any reason to get excited. The average viewer has forgotten the story 2 commercials after it's done airing.

[pacerpilot]

More journalistic feces in my opinion. The statement "private pilots need more training" is just a flat out bald faced lie and they need to be called on it.

[Floatsflyer]

Sorry for the interruption. Need to say Go Harvard, Go Zags(whew, that was too close). Thanks for understanding! Please continue.

[martymayes]

The statement "private pilots need more training" is just a flat out bald faced lie

explain?

[Mayhemxpc]

Is there anyone who doesn't need more training?

It is not just aviation...

"The power of the media is willful and dangerous because it dramatically affects Western pollcy while bearing no responsibity for the outcome"
-- Robert Kaplan, Foreign Correspondent, the Atlantic

[steveinindy]

So why isn't that on the NTSBs "Most Wanted" list? Or is it because it then affects everyone rather than a select group?


Because the average passenger car is not under the purview of the NTSB by the nature of the legislation that created the Board.

[Frank Giger]

Is there anyone who doesn't need more training?

It is not just aviation...

"The power of the media is willful and dangerous because it dramatically affects Western pollcy while bearing no responsibity for the outcome"
-- Robert Kaplan, Foreign Correspondent, the Atlantic

And this goes to the problem we'll never solve, since it speaks to the heart of integrity. Pilots, in the main, are overly confident, fussy, nitpicky, friendly pains in the rear who will at once state their strengths as aviators and then point out their fallibilities in the same breath.

None of us will say we don't need more training, or that we don't have things to learn - which is grist for the journalistic mill.

The flip side is that we also tend to be a bit quick to denegrate other pilot's abilities when things go wrong. One can be fully qualified and experienced at a task and things go wrong...it doesn't mean the pilot is a bozo, it just means that he is human and lead himself down the accident chain.

Not to say that some pilots aren't bozos. Luck is a mitigating factor but should never be a primary operating fundamental.

[martymayes]

And this goes to the problem we'll never solve,

Won't have to. If the topic becomes politically charged, the FAA will solve it for us. MU-2 airplanes are a perfect example.


Regarding another media story, I watched a program on the Speed Channel Sat. morning. They featured a Stearman as the aviation equivalent to the classic hotrod. Simply built, easy to restore/modify (their words, not mine) everyone who likes classic hotrods should have one. Okay, the story had some inaccuracies, false assumptions and misinformation but I enjoyed watching it for the entertainment value.

[Jim Hann]

The aviation numbers, when compared to cars, have a higher fatal incidence rate. The old adage about the drive to the airport as being more dangerous simply isn't true when talking about GA. I believe the aircraft fatality rate is on par with riding a motorcycle.

Can it be improved? Not easily. But GA really needs to get it's act together and try. Otherwise, the media will continue to hatchet the industry. Gonna be hard to get support for a libel suit when the statistical part of what they are saying is true.

If I remember the numbers from years ago, you were more likely to be in an auto accident BUT you were more likely to be killed in an aircraft accident. In other words the aviation accidents happened less often but were more likely to be fatal.

Jim

[WLIU]

Here is a good impact of the across the board cuts of the sequester. The rulemaking budget likely got cut too.

Fly safe,

Wes
N78PS

[eiclan]

in the time it took to watch that drivel you could have,sanded something,cut ,welded,measured,perused,admired any number of things or bit, or dare I say it but to keep the other half that puts up with your obsession happy by doing one of those things she has been asking for for months.By watching you just encourage them. Cheers Ross

[Floatsflyer]

in the time it took to watch that drivel you could have,sanded something,cut ,welded,measured,perused,admired any number of things or bit, or dare I say it but to keep the other half that puts up with your obsession happy by doing one of those things she has been asking for for months.By watching you just encourage them. Cheers Ross

And by taking a position of institutionalized ignoring by not watching, monitoring, voicing disapproval and keeping the media accountable for innacurracies and distortion, you will encourage, invite and guarantee more of the same. If you continue to support an ignorance is bliss attitude, then be assured one day you will no longer be able to sand, cut, weld.........guaranteed!

[WLIU]

I will suggest that rather than waste your effort writing to the media members who will never give you any positive resopnse, you should instead take the time to find a local media, TV or print, reporter and take them flying. Rent an airplane if you have to. Make a friend of aviation. The great opportunity is to create numbers of aviation friendly media rather than try to change the mind of individuals who don't care. Now this is harder work, but more constructive than just venting at someone who does not care.

The same holds true of your local politicians. Find ones that are disposed to be friendly, or ones that have not formed an anti-aviation opinion, and take them flying.

And fly Young Eagles.

Wrestling with anti-aviation people is a lot like wrestling with a pig. Doesn't accomplish much and the pig just might like to wrestle for the sake of wrestling.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[Chuck Arnold]

I watched the piece, and frankly I did not see the hatchet job that several others saw. Sure, they got a few things wrong ("a stall is when an airplane stops in the air"), and yes it was a bit sensational, but so what? The fact is that an excessive number of GA pilots kill themselves and their passengers every year by doing remarkably stupid things. Are you really going to find fault with an acro instructor who recommends spin training? Until pilots stop doing dumb things like taking off in an overloaded airplane at high density altitudes and posting youTube videos about it, regrettably, you're going to see more pieces like this on the news.

[Mayhemxpc]

You forgot to include..."with a CG well aft of the envelope."

Which will negate any spin training you had.

(I am not opposed to spin training. Lots of fun. Good lessons to be learned, too. I also believe in glider experience, although for different reasons.)

[WLIU]

I will suggest that large numbers of GA pilots are NOT killing themselves every year. When you look at the actual numbers, and you look at the numbers of new E-AB airplanes that are launched every year, and the estimated flying hours, there is not crisis. One of the folks who posts here had a nice article in Sport Aviation recently that shows this.

Now airplane crashes are much more "controversial" than auto crashes. It can make for TV that is easy to sensationalize. But TV is not reality and the hard numbers tell us that we should not get all wound up about this issue. Do our best not to be one of those statistics yes. Make ourselves miserable, No.

We do not live in a TV reality show and we should not act like we do. How many crashes a year are there at your local airport?

Each individual who thinks that the world would be safer if pilots spent more time training should go out and be first in line to sign up for spin training. The EAA IAC web site has a list of schools. Who knows, you might like it and find another aviation activity draining your bank account.

And I offer the advice in the last paragraph as someone who does upright AND inverted spins regularly.

A long long time ago, far far away, I helped film a TV segment where the host made his first parachute jump. They filmed 16 hours of video and distilled it down into 6 minutes on the air. What they picked and chose to include was very interesting. Good shots of the host sitting in the door of the airplane looking afraid. Played up the danger. Now the interesting part - after that segment aired we had a much larger first jump course the next weekend. Seems like many folks are looking for activities that are exciting and challenging, rather than safe and boring. With some work, this latest aviation hit piece might be used to bring out the adventure seekers with disposable income to learn to fly and defy death.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[Chuck Arnold]

Wes, I mostly agree with you. But note that I said "excessive number," not a "large number," of pilots are killing themselves. I do think it's excessive when so many incidents are caused by things that really shouldn't be happening, like fuel exhaustion and continued VFR into IMC. And I think better training can help prevent some of those accidents. I believe that continuing training, whether it's unusual attitude training, instrument training, or whatever, almost always results in a better, safer pilot.

I agree that GA does not have a safety crisis, but I do think that we as GA pilots have an added burden in the public eye because flying is something most people don't do, and therefore it's something they cannot easily relate to. An airplane going down in the woods somewhere and killing its occupants is more exotic to the public than an SUV going off a highway into a tree, and therefore, for better or worse, more newsworthy. It just means we have to be prepared to explain GA's safety record to our non-flying friends when asked.

[Chuck Arnold]

Interesting piece posted by Air Facts.

"'Because we investigate each of the 1,500 GA accidents that occur in the United States every year, we see the same types of accidents over and over again,' said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman."

http://airfactsjournal.com/2013/03/ntsb-shouts-will-anyone-listen/h

[WLIU]

I will suggest that the biggest problem with aviation safety is that pilots fly the airplanes. Earning a pilot certificate takes a personality type that is a little arrogant and a lot persistent. "Normal" people play golf. The individual that flies juggles data and risk. Normal people do activities that involve no physical risk. Pilots make a series of risk evaluations from the time that they decide that they will aviate today until the airplane is tied down again. Now any activity that involves making decision based on incomplete data will unavoidably generate a few decision that do not have the desired result. And aviation is, in the words of the practitioner of another discipline, an environment where "anything you do can get you killed. Including doing nothing." So we see that the majority of pilots make decisions that work. A few do not.

The NTSB has no charter to promote aviation. If we followed all of the NTSB reccomendations exactly we would not fly or our equipment would not be capable of leaving the ground. The NTSB is extremely risk averse. But we all make the value judgement that the benefits vastly outweigh the risks (that pesky word again), and 99% keep climbing in the airplane. The hard numbers are that the accident rate is low in relation to the size of the fleet and the number of pilots. Another risk-reward value judgement. So the NTSB points out the hazards, and we all do our best to reap the rewards and avoid the hazards.

So if you want perfect safety, keep pilots out of the airplanes. But perfect is the enemy of good and the hard numbers say that our current safety situation is pretty good.

Be careful out there,

Wes
N78PS

[martymayes]

I know, I know, the evil media is at it again, but here is a story, not only about GA but about homebuilding from the Baton Rouge mainstay newspaper, The Advocate:

http://theadvocate.com/features/people/5485537-123/16-years-in-the-making

[WLIU]

So the story in the link is a great example of how we can make our activity look like a positive, normal, admirable, part of society. The problem is that we are mostly too busy to encourage our "friends" in the media to do these kind of stories. And guys who spend hours and hours laboring away in their shops do not write press releases for themselves. But in truth, local media will eagerly write these types of human interest stories. And our job is to try to make these stories a lot more common than the "oh my god and airplane fell out of the sky" stories.

Example - When an IAC chapter hosts a contest, we often invite a member of the local media to come out on the first practice day to watch, get a tour, and interview competitors. It is an opportunity to let the community know what all of that extra noise at the airport is, and it gives the news organization material to fill space. I have been interviewed several times and had my airplane photographed. The resulting article has always said nice things about the airport, the event, the people who put the work into making the event happen, and the competitors. Another example of an opportunity for positive press is Young Eagle events. Every media person thinks young people getting a free airplane ride is a great thing. And I will suggest that every EAA chapter should send out a press release after one of their members completes the first flight of a homebuilt.

Giving the media material that you want to see in print, on TV, and on the internet, always produces better results than letting them wander around unguided and picking what they stumble into just before their deadline.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[N96290]

The motorcycle and aircraft accident rates are simular and higher than cars because a high percentage are related to horse play and operations of exuberance. If you compare the accidents for normal use the numbers will be a lot closer. For cars lets only count the accidents for high performance vehicles and other high insurance rate classes and see how the numbers compare. It's all is in how you spin the facts. The soccer mom mini vans and their drivers skew the numbers unless you are counting the number of people who die of boredom.

[Mayhemxpc]

Well the high speed and horseplay (including teenage male drivers of Silverado pick-ups) may run into soccer-mom mini-vans. So how would that affect the numbers? I read once that 35% of people killed in drunk driving accidents aren't even in the same car as the drunk driver. Just focusing on high-risk driving may not be enough of a discriminator.

[WLIU]

If you could help educate an old guy, I was under the impression that motorcycle accidents were a lot higher and that the majority of them involved motorcycles not been seen by car and truck drivers. At least that was the impression during my motorcycle riding days and I have not seen any data to contradict that. Could you cite the stats for the assertion above?

As for aircraft accidents, in the NTSB reports that I see, and the NTSB recommendations that we hear about through EAA, reckless flying hasn't made the list of top concerns. The few incidents get a lot of publicity, but from what I can see, the big problems are guys flying into weather, misjudging density altitude, etc. Can you provide a statistic?

Ron W just had an interesting article on the safety stats published in Sport Aviation. I did not recall seeing reckless flying highlighted.

Thanks,

Wes
N78PS

[rwanttaja]

Ron W just had an interesting article on the safety stats published in Sport Aviation. I did not recall seeing reckless flying highlighted.
Figure 6 gives the number of fatal homebuilt accidents in 2011 for various causes. The last three would probably encompass "Reckless flying"... Maneuvering at Low Altitude (3 fatal accidents), Midairs (also 3) and Continued VFR into IFR Conditions (2 fatals). That's eight out of 54 total fatal homebuilt accidents. More than twice as many fatals were due to the pilot not controlling his plane or its systems correctly.

Ron Wanttaja

[WLIU]

Thanks for the breakdown!

So I will suggest that the assertion that "a high percentage are related to horse play" is false. I will suggest that the aviation equivalent of "horseplay" translates to the "maneuvering at low altitude" category in Ron's article. Which looks like 3 of 54 accidents or under 6%.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[rwanttaja]

Thanks for the breakdown!

So I will suggest that the assertion that "a high percentage are related to horse play" is false. I will suggest that the aviation equivalent of "horseplay" translates to the "maneuvering at low altitude" category in Ron's article. Which looks like 3 of 54 accidents or under 6%.
That's 6% of fatal accidents. In 2011, "Maneuvering at Low Altitude" was involved with only 2.6% of the total. And 2011 was a pretty good year... over the 14 years my database covers, 4.7% of the total accidents involve it. Accidents due to stick-and-rudder mistakes happen about eight times more often.

Ron Wanttaja

[martymayes]

The Nall Report shows ~350 GA accidents occured while landing (for calendar yr 2010). This type of accident has a low fatality rate because a plane is in a low energy state when landing. But anyhow, wrecking ~1 plane per day is a lot of bent metal, basically because the event demanded more skill than the pilot had available. If that doesn't scream "more training" I don't know what does.

[WLIU]

Training is good, but if you think that a wreck a day is bad, please do not look at the car accident statistics. You will walk to work in the morning.

We are our own worst critics. Perspective is good.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[martymayes]

No, I wouldn't walk because I know the number of cars on the road in the small town where I live far exceeds the numbrer of GA aircraft in the air in one day. And no, we don't have 1 car accident a day where the driver can't successfully turn into his driveway or the Wal Mart parking lot.

[WLIU]

There aren't? The US Census Bureau reports that in 2009 there were 35.9 Million fatalities in autos, or an average of 1917 per state per day.

Now there are a lot more cars on the road than recreation airplanes flying on a weekday, but I was surprised by that number. Perhaps starting a home based business is not such a bad idea.

Airplane accidents get a LOT more press.

Fly safe,

Wes
N78PS

[martymayes]

I think you may have been April fooled or something. The number of auto deaths in the US is about 100 per day.

[WLIU]

Well, in all fairness, I went to the Census Bureau web site at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/transportation/motor_vehicle_accidents_and_fatalities.html

and I misread a number but it says in 2009 there were 35.9 x 1000 which divided by 50 states and 365 days is 98 per day nationally and about 2 per day per state.

I would still rather fly.

Wes
N78PS