AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 20

SAFETY PILOT

Yogi wisdom

BRUCE LANDSBERG
President, AOPA Foundation

‘It ain’t over til it’s over’

BRUCE LANDSBERG

will present a
seminar on
“Real-World IFR”
at the 2013 AOPA
Aviation Summit
in Fort Worth,
Texas, October 10
through 12.

YOGI BERRA, star baseball player and manager for the
hated (or beloved) New York Yankees, always had a way
with words. Here are some quotes of Berra in the context of general aviation safety.
“You can observe a lot just by watching.” A profound
thought—one really can learn a lot from other people’s
mistakes, yet accident pilots consistently follow the
same path. The knowledge of what it takes to fly safely
is not new and the risks are well known. We run out of
gas, lose control in turns, attempt VFR when it’s IMC,
fly into thunderstorms, and try to do things with the aircraft that the designers never intended.
“If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.” Too many
of our departed friends compared themselves to Sean
Tucker, Bob Hoover, or merely a competent IFR pilot—
when they weren’t especially good at aerobatics or
instrument flight. Maneuvering flight continues to be
a leading killer, as is weather. Some pilots equate themselves to those who have attained much greater skill.
“If she can do it, why can’t I?” In performance activities, merely saying that one is capable doesn’t make it
so. Lots of practice, knowledge, and a little innate talent
are needed. Woody Allen, another famous philosopher,
noted, “Eighty percent of life is showing up.” In aviation,
not only is showing up essential but one also has to play
reasonably well.
“Baseball is 90 percent mental—the other half is
physical.” So what about flying? My estimation is that
it’s about 80 percent mental, 30 percent physical, and
75 percent judgment. The math still doesn’t quite add
up, but the idea is simple. You can overcome any skill
level with enough bad judgment. Every year a number
of accidents will cause some head shaking as we try to
understand what the pilot was thinking.
There will be others where someone was in the
wrong place at the wrong time. Midair collisions are
rare, but high-density traffic areas demand solid procedures to avoid a meeting of the metal. The limits of the
human eye are well known but with a sterile cockpit,
onboard equipment, ATC advisories, appropriate radio
use, and a paranoid scan, the odds improve. Avoiding
ultra-nasty weather including thunderstorms, ice, and
low clouds is 155 percent headwork. It usually involves
little skill to avoid and most of the time there is at least
some evidence that it’s lurking. So, don’t go there!
Occasionally there will be a catastrophic mechanical failure that really isn’t the pilot’s doing. The best

20 | AOPA PILOT September 2013

one can do is to fly well-maintained aircraft and accept
the inconvenience when something shows up on preflight or runup that will delay or cancel the flight. It
also means practicing for the unthinkable so if there’s
any chance for a good outcome, we’re ready to perform.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Decision-making is an area where GA could spend
some additional time, both in training and in what the
airlines call IOE or initial operating experience. This
means that when pilots earn a certificate or rating that
confers new capability, it’s time to listen and learn even
though the test was just passed. You’re still the same,
skill and knowledge-wise, as you were a few hours earlier. Understanding things in an academic sense is not
the same as knowing them experientially. That takes
time and exposure.
Ditto for checking out in a new model of aircraft.
Transition training is important and although aircraft
have similarities, the devil truly can be in the details
of fuel systems, handling characteristics, or something
else. A logbook endorsement sometimes just means the
paperwork or insurance requirement is satisfied. There
is still real learning ahead as we make peace with the
hardware—the first 100 hours in type is a good benchmark. It’s best not to carry passengers for at least the
first 10 hours.
“It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.” A few pilots—perhaps you’ve come across them—could stand a bit more
humility. Sometimes accidents occur to really experienced folk who got complacent or to lesser-experienced
ones who were merely conceited. I’ve had the privilege
to be around some of the best in the business. The better they are, typically, the less swagger. They’ve seen a
lot but concede they ain’t seen it all—and the most critical flight is the next one.
There are many more Yogisms, but perhaps his
most famous is, “It ain’t over til it’s over.” Too many
times after an accident, for pilots and their passengers—it’s over. The safety mindset needs to happen on
every flight, so we have to out-think and outfly Murphy
(Murphy’s law: “Anything that can go wrong, will go
wrong”) every time. Murphy only needs to win once.
But there are millions of flights flown annually by hundreds of thousands of pilots who take on the Murph and
beat him every time. You can be one of them!
AOPA
WEB www.airsafetyinstitute.org


http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013
Contents
President’s Position
Visual Approach
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Safety Pilot
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Flying to Japan
AOPA Action
Events
AOPAIS
AOPA Sweepstakes
Fly-Outs
Test Pilot
AOPA News
News
Pilot Products
The Right Man for the Times
Advancing a Cause
Classically Modern
Battery Power
Propulsion: Where Do We Go From Here?
Electric Instead
Noteworthy Developments
eSpyder Flight
Spreading Aviation
AOPA Live This Week
Ownership
Dogfight
Avionics
Wx Watch
Never Again
Events
Products and Services
AOPA Foundation
Membership
State and Local Action
Insurance Services
Fly by Wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - President’s Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Visual Approach
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Safety Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Flying to Japan
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPA Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Events
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPAIS
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPA Sweepstakes
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Fly-Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Test Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPA News
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - News
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Pilot Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - SI1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - SI2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - SI3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - SI4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - The Right Man for the Times
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Advancing a Cause
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Classically Modern
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Propulsion: Where Do We Go From Here?
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Electric Instead
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Noteworthy Developments
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - eSpyder Flight
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Spreading Aviation
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPA Live This Week
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Ownership
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Dogfight
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Avionics
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Wx Watch
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Events
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Products and Services
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - AOPA Foundation
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Membership
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - State and Local Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Insurance Services
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Fly by Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - Cover4
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