AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 28

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Analyzing
pilot error
It shouldn't matter, but it does
IN THE TITLE LYRIC of his recent ballad, John Mayer croons, " It
shouldn't matter, but it does. " The line resonated as I began the
unpleasant task of another fatal accident review. Analyzing accidents
requires an objective mind. Look hard at the facts; have the
honesty to go where they lead and the discipline to ignore emotions.
Emotions shouldn't matter. They corrupt conclusions and
lead to elisions that conceal lessons we must glean from these
tragedies, or we're more likely to repeat them. The emotions felt
by family and friends from what these accident analyses reveal
are difficult to put aside.
When families hear pilot error as the cause of an accident
that took their beloved pilot and others, they often respond
with disbelief, then denial and anger: The NTSB is wrong. The
pilot the family knew and who flew them safely was exceptional.
A great, knowledgeable pilot. If only we had flown with
them, we'd understand something else had to cause the accident.
A problem with the airplane; some unexplained weather
phenomenon or a controller mistake, anything but pilot error.
Not their pilot.
The shock and grief of surviving loved ones is the price we
pay for publicizing lessons from our tragedies. I hate it for the
families. I know their emotional reaction shouldn't taint our
drive for a full and accurate understanding of the accident. It
shouldn't matter, but it does. The only justification is that I'm
certain a public analysis saves lives and prevents others from
similar emotional wreckage.
The incredulity of family and friends faced with the fallibility
of their pilot exposes the trust our loved ones place in us. A
recondite trust. They cannot comprehend the risk calculations
we make on their behalf, nor the knowledge required to make
those calculations. Every passenger we fly offers us their life,
all they've worked for, and the emotional health and well-being
of those who love them. The latter impact on our own families-when
our flying skills lie naked, fissures exposed through
a harsh public critique-seems especially camouflaged to us.
Poor decision-making is often the catalyst for general aviation
accidents and the ensuing heartache. Looking back is easy.
We spend hours gathering near-perfect awareness of a situation
a pilot experienced clouded in mental duress. Sometimes,
the pilot makes a premeditated bad decision. Other times, the
28
AOPA PILOT / June 2022
BY RICHARD MCSPADDEN / Senior Vice President, AOPA
Air Safety Institute / AOPA Foundation Legacy Society member
error comes with only minutes or seconds to take action. In

AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 43
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - R-1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - R-2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - R-3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - R-4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 73
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - Cover4
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