GA Saftey Program

Aviation accidents have been getting quite a bit of attention this year. General aviation suffers about three accidents per day, with a couple hundred fatalities per year. This number hasn’t gone down nearly enough. There is a call for action however.

The National Pause for GA Safety is an initiative to encourage pilots to do at least one thing, in the next six months, that sharpens their flight skills. Most of the big aviation groups are behind this effort, and you can earn Wings credits for your participation.

Check out gasafe.org for training ideas and resources. There is quite a variety of training options, so you’re bound to find something that is pertinent to your flying or that sparks your interest.

Many pilots view training as an inconvenience or something to just hurry up and get over with. Use the opportunity to go do something fun, push your boundaries a little, experience something new with an instructor. It can be easy to believe we are all at our peak capability every flight, but the truth is many pilots fly a similar flight profile all the time. They might fly a quick sight seeing flight or a short cross country for business quite a lot. It always goes well, which leads them to assume that’s because they are an awesome pilot. But are you really ready for the unexpected? Could you handle an electrical failure, an engine fire, or an issue with the controls? Pilots are good at using checklists in training, but some let that habit slip after so many hours of experience and the feeling they don’t need to use it as religiously.

Let me ask you this, do you always follow the speed limit exactly? Probably not (it’s OK, I won’t tell anyone). You maybe started going 5 mph over in your car. Then you did that successfully for awhile with no negative results, so you increase to 10 over. Same thing. Until one day. Maybe you got a speeding ticket, or maybe you had an accident. That shifting of your habit from the expected norm to your “new” procedure is called Normalization of Deviance. It happens slowly, over time. It’s largely noticeable primarily in hindsight and typically after an unwanted event. Now really critically evaluate your flying habits. See any areas where you might be able to improve and get back to good procedure? Use this opportunity to do so! Have a safe flight!