For those that are melting down when one person they know is lost...you should know that after the fifteenth friend, and the thirtieth...it still doesn't get any easier. At the same time, one comes to realize that it's not a melt down panic situation...it's a tragedy, it's a loss, it's sad. But it's no time to go blaming the airplane. Friend gets shot, we don't blame the gun, we blame the shooter. Friend dies in a fire, we look to the cause of the fire, not the fire itself. Friend makes a personal choice and jumps off a bridge...you get the idea. We don't blame the bridge.
A poor carpenter blames his tools...a poor pilot blames his or her airplane. I die in an airplane, don't go blaming it on the airplane. Even if it comes apart in flight, I'm the guy who signed for it, I'm the guy who made the decision to fly it, and I'm the guy who was acting as the supreme authority in this world with respect to the responsibility for the safe outcome of the flight, and yes...you can lay the blame on my soulders, if you're one of those candy-assed blame-seeking sort of kalifornian fruitcakes. Some of us would rather seek soloutions than spend a lifetime seeking blame, but then that's just the maturity and responsibility peeking through. Go figure.
Any professional pilot who blames the airplane overhimself is no professional, but a kid with a lot of growing up to do. If you elect to fly the airplane and you think it's beyond you, then you're making an unprofessional and irresponsible, and criminal mistake...but it's your mistake, not the airplane. I don't care what kind of airplane it is, be it a mitsubishi, bonanza, viper jet, or super cub. It's YOUR choice. Don't feed the world crap talk about how xxx couldn't refrain, was too drawn to the light. We're all in the same boat, some of us have been flying since before we could drive, and have sacrificed just about every aspect of our lives to make this our way of life. I fully understand what drives someone to fly, but don't mitigate a pilot's personal responsibility in the cockpit with sad stories about the airplane, or this or that, leading to tragedy.
It's the pilot. 100% pure and simple, always the pilot, who takes full responsibility as pilot in command, for the safe outcome of the flight. We bet our lives on that fact, live and die by that fact.
Lost close friends and relatives, walk a mile in your shoes? Every damn day. Every day. More losses each year by percentage of aircraft in service, by percentage of pilots involved, by percentage of hours flown, than most any combat unit...year after year. Not once have I ever lashed out at the airplane, even when the airplane broke up in flight, even when friends died, even when I was personally involved, even when I watched it happen and personally put out the fire. Been there. Done that. Will probably do it again...and one day someone will be there for me, too.
But this business of lashing out and blaming the airplane is ludicruous, stupid, foolish, nuts, childish. I had a room-mate once who loved to shoot hoops. Funny thing was that when the ball didn't go through the hoop, he'd get mad at the ball. He'd yell at it, he's even hit it. He'd blame it...it's the ball's fault he didn't make the basket. Didn't matter what make of ball, where the sun was, how much he practiced, weather he'd had his wheaties or enough sleep...he blamed the ball. Some pilots blame the airplane.
The loss of integrity enough to take the full brunt of the blame for what goes wrong on our flight is a loss of honor, and a degredation of the industry. When we begin to blame the airplane instead of ourselves, or to look anywhere but ourselves for the full and total responsibility for the safe outcome of the flight, we belittle ourselves, we belittle others, we insult the intelligence of those of us who know better, and who hold the honor and responsibility and professionalism high enough in esteem to take that responsibility.
Loss is painful. We seek understanding. We seek help. We seek an answer. All too often, there isn't one, so we make one. We lay blame. We file lawsuits. We cry foul, we call for grounding this or that. Someone must be to blame, after all, right?
Yes. Us. We. The pilots. The crew. Most specifically, the pilot in command. If you can't take responsibility for being in command, if you're not man enough to stand up and point your finger at yourself and quit making excuses about weather, airplanes, company, union, other crewmembers...then step aside, because you've failed your most basic duty as PIC.
All this talk about Learjets, the MU-2, and heaven knows what else being a dangerous airplane tells me one thing...folks who say as much haven't the experience in type, in the operation, in life, and in the industry to know what they're talking about. That's inexperience, anger, frustration, and rumor talking. Ground this. Change that. How about merely learning to fly it properly, or stepping aside to let someone else do so who can?
Someone mentioned the Lear 23 being a dangerous airplane. Surely you gest. Someone mentioned the Seneca being a dangerous airplane. I'd be deeply embarassed and ashamed to have made such a ridiculous statement...such statements really speak to the state of mind and ability of the speaker...not the airplane, for they identify the speaker as one who is either unable to fly, or merely ignorant of the fact, but certainly not in posession of a good grasp on airmanship or reality. Crikey.
One airpane I fly is a fairly unstable ship. We had a pilot come fly it a few years ago who made one sortie, got out, and walked away. He said he was afraid of it. Was he a wimp or a bad pilot? I doubt that, but he recognized his limitations. Was the airplane bad? I'm still flying it, and I don't think so. I've met a lot of pilots who have flown it, and they tell me how dangerous it is...what I hear coming out of their mouth is really "I lack the skills to properly fly the airplane." It's not a dangerous airplane, not by a long shot. A lot of pilots have been killed in one. We lost three last year, all spectacular fatals, all folks we knew well...it's a small community. They put a stand-down for three days on the type while they considered the implications, and then immediately returned us to service...just as they should.
Is it a bad airplane? No. Are they bad pilots? I can't say. They believed enough in what they were doing that they bet their lives on it...they lost, we mourn, we move on. But condemn the airplane? Come on, people. Grow up...plant your feet where you stand and show some gumption...take responsibility for pete's sake. Do you fly the airplane, or do you let it fly you???
Nothing like ailerons...hence the law suits that followed and the turf war with Curtis, et al. I believe you were the one that said anybody who flies an aircraft without ailerons should revisit his or her medical, implying that such a person has a problem of some sort. Do you then imply that the Wright brothers should never have flown?
But we don't train that way in most turbine equipment, do we? (no).
Which has nothing to do with the topic at hand. The airplane isn't being flown by "test pilots," it's a known quantity, and pilots who undertake a flight in the airplane have a full understanding of it's pecularities. All airplanes have personalities, strengths, weaknesses. The mitsubishi is no different. Accept that, or don't fly it.
Some say it's gear is too narrow and it's too difficult to land. What claptrap...it's the pilots saying that who don't know how to land. The airplane does just fine.
If you truly feel that way, I can't believe you were flying a seneca around either. If you're really watching the airplane fly you around, now is a good time to turn in your certificates and do something that doesn't involve others depending on you. What a truly scary thing to say.
Folks, the loss is sad. Beyond that, how about knocking off all the speculation (a truly wasteful and childish act that speaks only to the character of the participant), and waiting for the facts to emerge? How about remembering those lost not for how they died, but for how they lived...surely this is how they would like to be remembered?
A poor carpenter blames his tools...a poor pilot blames his or her airplane. I die in an airplane, don't go blaming it on the airplane. Even if it comes apart in flight, I'm the guy who signed for it, I'm the guy who made the decision to fly it, and I'm the guy who was acting as the supreme authority in this world with respect to the responsibility for the safe outcome of the flight, and yes...you can lay the blame on my soulders, if you're one of those candy-assed blame-seeking sort of kalifornian fruitcakes. Some of us would rather seek soloutions than spend a lifetime seeking blame, but then that's just the maturity and responsibility peeking through. Go figure.
Any professional pilot who blames the airplane overhimself is no professional, but a kid with a lot of growing up to do. If you elect to fly the airplane and you think it's beyond you, then you're making an unprofessional and irresponsible, and criminal mistake...but it's your mistake, not the airplane. I don't care what kind of airplane it is, be it a mitsubishi, bonanza, viper jet, or super cub. It's YOUR choice. Don't feed the world crap talk about how xxx couldn't refrain, was too drawn to the light. We're all in the same boat, some of us have been flying since before we could drive, and have sacrificed just about every aspect of our lives to make this our way of life. I fully understand what drives someone to fly, but don't mitigate a pilot's personal responsibility in the cockpit with sad stories about the airplane, or this or that, leading to tragedy.
It's the pilot. 100% pure and simple, always the pilot, who takes full responsibility as pilot in command, for the safe outcome of the flight. We bet our lives on that fact, live and die by that fact.
Lost close friends and relatives, walk a mile in your shoes? Every damn day. Every day. More losses each year by percentage of aircraft in service, by percentage of pilots involved, by percentage of hours flown, than most any combat unit...year after year. Not once have I ever lashed out at the airplane, even when the airplane broke up in flight, even when friends died, even when I was personally involved, even when I watched it happen and personally put out the fire. Been there. Done that. Will probably do it again...and one day someone will be there for me, too.
But this business of lashing out and blaming the airplane is ludicruous, stupid, foolish, nuts, childish. I had a room-mate once who loved to shoot hoops. Funny thing was that when the ball didn't go through the hoop, he'd get mad at the ball. He'd yell at it, he's even hit it. He'd blame it...it's the ball's fault he didn't make the basket. Didn't matter what make of ball, where the sun was, how much he practiced, weather he'd had his wheaties or enough sleep...he blamed the ball. Some pilots blame the airplane.
The loss of integrity enough to take the full brunt of the blame for what goes wrong on our flight is a loss of honor, and a degredation of the industry. When we begin to blame the airplane instead of ourselves, or to look anywhere but ourselves for the full and total responsibility for the safe outcome of the flight, we belittle ourselves, we belittle others, we insult the intelligence of those of us who know better, and who hold the honor and responsibility and professionalism high enough in esteem to take that responsibility.
Loss is painful. We seek understanding. We seek help. We seek an answer. All too often, there isn't one, so we make one. We lay blame. We file lawsuits. We cry foul, we call for grounding this or that. Someone must be to blame, after all, right?
Yes. Us. We. The pilots. The crew. Most specifically, the pilot in command. If you can't take responsibility for being in command, if you're not man enough to stand up and point your finger at yourself and quit making excuses about weather, airplanes, company, union, other crewmembers...then step aside, because you've failed your most basic duty as PIC.
All this talk about Learjets, the MU-2, and heaven knows what else being a dangerous airplane tells me one thing...folks who say as much haven't the experience in type, in the operation, in life, and in the industry to know what they're talking about. That's inexperience, anger, frustration, and rumor talking. Ground this. Change that. How about merely learning to fly it properly, or stepping aside to let someone else do so who can?
Someone mentioned the Lear 23 being a dangerous airplane. Surely you gest. Someone mentioned the Seneca being a dangerous airplane. I'd be deeply embarassed and ashamed to have made such a ridiculous statement...such statements really speak to the state of mind and ability of the speaker...not the airplane, for they identify the speaker as one who is either unable to fly, or merely ignorant of the fact, but certainly not in posession of a good grasp on airmanship or reality. Crikey.
One airpane I fly is a fairly unstable ship. We had a pilot come fly it a few years ago who made one sortie, got out, and walked away. He said he was afraid of it. Was he a wimp or a bad pilot? I doubt that, but he recognized his limitations. Was the airplane bad? I'm still flying it, and I don't think so. I've met a lot of pilots who have flown it, and they tell me how dangerous it is...what I hear coming out of their mouth is really "I lack the skills to properly fly the airplane." It's not a dangerous airplane, not by a long shot. A lot of pilots have been killed in one. We lost three last year, all spectacular fatals, all folks we knew well...it's a small community. They put a stand-down for three days on the type while they considered the implications, and then immediately returned us to service...just as they should.
Is it a bad airplane? No. Are they bad pilots? I can't say. They believed enough in what they were doing that they bet their lives on it...they lost, we mourn, we move on. But condemn the airplane? Come on, people. Grow up...plant your feet where you stand and show some gumption...take responsibility for pete's sake. Do you fly the airplane, or do you let it fly you???
Nothing like ailerons...hence the law suits that followed and the turf war with Curtis, et al. I believe you were the one that said anybody who flies an aircraft without ailerons should revisit his or her medical, implying that such a person has a problem of some sort. Do you then imply that the Wright brothers should never have flown?
But we don't train that way in most turbine equipment, do we? (no).
Which has nothing to do with the topic at hand. The airplane isn't being flown by "test pilots," it's a known quantity, and pilots who undertake a flight in the airplane have a full understanding of it's pecularities. All airplanes have personalities, strengths, weaknesses. The mitsubishi is no different. Accept that, or don't fly it.
Some say it's gear is too narrow and it's too difficult to land. What claptrap...it's the pilots saying that who don't know how to land. The airplane does just fine.
If you truly feel that way, I can't believe you were flying a seneca around either. If you're really watching the airplane fly you around, now is a good time to turn in your certificates and do something that doesn't involve others depending on you. What a truly scary thing to say.
Folks, the loss is sad. Beyond that, how about knocking off all the speculation (a truly wasteful and childish act that speaks only to the character of the participant), and waiting for the facts to emerge? How about remembering those lost not for how they died, but for how they lived...surely this is how they would like to be remembered?
