Flechas said:
That article is sick, those fukcing reporters don't know ther a$$es from their heads.
I've never thought about the things I say in the cockpit, but I guess it's a good idea to start doing it now, you never know what may save or bury your a$$ in the future.
As far as that accident is concerned, only they know what happened up there that night, so lets not judge them, It may be us next time.
Fly safe.
How do you expect to learn if you do not want to judge? You have to look at what happened and determine what caused the accident to happen. Each step is important.
"Having a little fun" shows a part of the mindset of the pilot responding. We're professionals. This is our job. We're not here to "have fun". If you want fun go skydiving or rent a Decatholon and do acrobatics.
In skydiving we have a saying that says "If you're gonna be stupid you better be tough". It's harsh. But it gets a lot of testosterone driven newbies to listen. Maybe a dose of that among our ranks would be a good thing. The harsh reality of aviation is that you can parish (along with everyone on board) by making some wrong decisions that don't seem very important at first glance. I've had plenty of friends killed in skydiving over the past 10 years so I'm quite familiar with the mindset of "woowhoo! OH SH!T!!"
It's always an arguement about how we shouldn't talk ill of the dead. I always respond with "how is it talking ill of their total life accomplishments by talking about something that could save someone else's life?" The final moments don't summarize how they lived their total life. (well, sometimes it does) Many times it's the mindset going into a situtaion that gets you killed and nothing else. The rest is just details for the report.
I would keep this in the back of my mind the next time I start to think I'm board at work and want to "have a little fun."
Not judging the crew as being "bad" people. Just offering some insight into what I've observed over some years in this harsh, unforgiving activity called aviation. We can't reach into the past and yank our friends out of the situation just before it goes bad. But we can look forward and carry their experience with us. I've sat on the crew room couch and thought about all the things that might have been going on right then:
Night, double engine failure, triple chimes and single chimes that don't seem to want to stop, ADG noise, aircraft stall, flying over dark turrain that you are possibly unfamiliar with and can't see the nearest airport, never flown a glider before let alone a 46,000 pound glider, depressurizing cabin, the list goes on and on. It's not a place I want to go ever and how this crew go into that situation has my attention very much. "Having a little fun".
God Bless them and their families.