Why do so many general aviation pilots risk their lives to get home?
According to FAA officials, it’s because they have a condition called “get-there-itis.”
Underlying that condition is plan continuation bias, which is when a person continues with a plan despite poor or worsening circumstances for that plan’s success, FAA officials say.
The newest video in the FAA’s 57 Seconds to Safer Flying includes some tactics to reduce your risks and increase your margin of safety.
You can see all the videos in the series here.
“There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.” –Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970
“The airplane does not care if it is day or night.”–unknown.
“Prepare for the unknown, unexpected and inconceivable… after 50 years of flying I’m still learning every time I fly.” –Gene Cernan, last man to walk on the moon.
My recent/parallel experience. I was vacationing in Nashville TN and had to return to Wichita KS… normally a 10-hr drive. Roughly 5:30-hours into the drive we caught the front-edge of a major storm system enveloping the entire region… which intensified as we drove west in holiday and trucking traffic. Between the rain and the road-spray from speeding cars and 18-wheelers driving low windshiled, and side-windw, visibility we channeled-into a horribly tense-no-second-to-relax situation. The pounding windshield wipers barely kept-up, leaving us with a blurry-wet windshield. About 2-hours into the intense storm system, winter-night darkness came-on, making things that-much-worse. OH, and arguing with my agitated wife regarding freeway and off-freeway routing… ‘her way’ or the ‘GPS way’… finally erupted between us. I made to command decision to ignore her and stick with GPS routing and started off-freeway, down 2-lane roads… with far-lower traffic volume. It helped. 2-Hours late [+12-hrs total] we arrived home in Wichita area in light rain. I was exhausted and wired and replaying the drive for hours in my mind. That is when it struck me ‘get-home-itis’ had stupidly/relentlessly pushed-us… and the car… waaaaaay past any safety limit.
This was a major late-life lesson for 70-YO ME. I can still feel-hear-see the pounding rain, the road, rubbing-windshield wipers, the auto lights… mixed together… etc… as I write this. OH… and the next day, my wife and I were so mentally and physically exhausted we ‘crashed’ and slept away the day.
We were fortunate. We agreed to never let this, and similar stupid ‘get-home-itis’ situations, happen ever again. Park it!! We and the the dog can pee in the rain and sleep in the car if we have-to… at least we won’t be rolling the dice and betting our lives on chance encounters with traffic, deep puddles, crosswinds and turbulence, etc… or worse (coming soon) snow, sleet and ice… factors out-of-our-control IF we get into-the-thick-of-it.
Most of everything we take for granted today is a result of someone pushing the limits.
Is the earth flat, is powered heavier than air flight possible???….not according to be super safe whinners.
It may be simple, like when I hear people say “I make zero/zero take offs”. SIMPLY STUPID! The people I feel for are the family and friends that trust their safety to this person. I have lots of “professional pilot” experience and roll back my boldness in my twin put put from what me and the team did when in a B777. When in my own plane it is ME doing everything to make sure it is reasonable. A lot more room for errors than when flying for carrier XYZ. There the FAA says YOU SHALL NOT DO…….., you have a team of dispatchers checking weather and legalities, you have a team in the cockpit and an airplane that has unbelievable capabilities in comparison, then finally but not least the pilots have been trained, trained and trained and retrained. Please for this year and forever do not think I’m as good as the airlines, YOU ARE NOT, and neither am I when I’m on my own.
This is what I would tell my flight students:
“The weather always wins. It doesn’t care how big your airplane is, or how many guns, rockets and bombs are slung under the wings, or how many engines it has, or how many passengers it has, repeat after me, the weather always wins.”
They usually listened . . .
When my son was learning to fly, I had a “Father/Son” talk with him. About flying.
I told him that his body would tell him when he was doing something stupid. Like tensing up, sucking up seat cushion material, etc. when pushing weather, fuel, or personal limits.
However, his body would also tell him when he was doing something incredibly smart. Like the feeling you get when the decision is made to turn back, land short, go to an alternate, etc.