The rule about rules

Anyone who delves into the art and science of flight will learn fairly early on how rule-intensive the industry is.

Even at the entry level pilot trainees for any certificate from sport pilot on up will be encouraged to review the five hazardous attitudes the FAA has identified.

They are, in no particular order, antiauthority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation.

Each has its own indicators of an attitude or behavior that resides in each and every one of us to some degree.

Our job as a responsible pilot is to not just learn to regurgitate these five terms on demand. Rather, our goal is to truly understand what they mean, how we can circumvent them and the damage they can inspire, and to recognize that we are as susceptible to them as anyone else.

These aren’t simply the foibles lesser men and women suffer from. They’re hidden in our makeup too. They aren’t gender specific, or age limited, or ethnically picky. If you’re a human, you suffer from these to some degree.

Hopefully you’re wise enough to recognize your sensitivity to each of these risks, as well as your personal challenge to overcome them on a daily basis — not just in the cockpit, but in your life outside the aircraft as well.

Much of the wider population is blind to these issues. As a result, we live in a world filled with preventable accidents — many of them tragic in their outcome.

Consider this example: As an avid motorcyclist for nearly 60 years, I found myself riding down a divided four-lane road recently on a beautiful spring-like day. A smattering of clouds effectively kept the glare of the Sunshine State in check. The traffic was flowing smoothly, but it was fairly heavy.

I was in the left lane, preparing to make a left turn at an intersection less than half a mile away. My Zero DSR is electric, which is to say it is whisper quiet but packs a punch should I choose to get aggressive with the throttle. Something I generally find to be unnecessary and often dumb.

Unexpectedly, a loud sport bike with an overly aggressive rider suddenly appeared directly beside me, accelerating through the pack of cars, weaving from side to side to avoid colliding with sideview mirrors as he went.

We don’t allow lane splitting in Florida. This rider didn’t care. He twisted his throttle, his exhaust barking with great emphasis, as he rocketed through the side by side line of cars as quickly as he could. He was well above the speed limit as well.

Arriving at a red light, I found myself just two vehicles behind him. He was now in the right lane in the lead position. I remained in the left lane, my turn being at the next light a short distance ahead.

When the light turned green the young man on the sport bike did not move. Rather, he continued to do what I can only describe as posing while astride a powerful machine. Situational awareness was apparently not high on his list of priorities.

The left lane began to move forward, allowing me to pass him and arrive at the next light several car lengths ahead of him.

When he realized traffic was moving again he twisted the throttle excessively, leapt off the line accelerating to a far higher speed than necessary or wise, and caught the next light red.

This is the sort of rider I expect will not remain upright for long. The availability of power has led him to believe his ability to twist a handgrip with authority makes him a great rider. He weaves through traffic taking unnecessary risks in an effort to appear cool, while achieving nothing of value in the process.

Falling off a motorcycle is no small thing. Even under the best of circumstances it can hurt. Under the worst circumstances it can be fatal.

You have no doubt been behind a driver at a red light who misses the transition to green because they’re on their phone doing something that has nothing to do with safely guiding a couple tons of steel down the road. You’ve seen the impatient driver turn right on red at an intersection where that right turn is clearly labeled as being prohibited.

Just the other day I saw a driver turn left on red, ostensibly because they felt their time crunch was sufficient enough to risk their own safety and the safety of others to save as little as a single minute while waiting for the green light.

As pilots we are not immune to the pressures of being human. We may be running late. We may have someone waiting for us at the other end of the journey. It’s at least possible there is a truly compelling reason for us to be pressed for time.

Yet whether we’re in a car, astride a motorcycle, or in the cockpit of an aircraft, none of that eliminates the risk we take when we discard the rules in favor of our own selfish interests.

I have felt the urge to take a risk from time to time. Once, I can clearly remember being in the cockpit, engine running, trying to decide if I should risk flying a cross-country in less than desirable weather to deliver an airplane. After reviewing the pluses and minuses of the situation, I headed back to the hangar, shut down, and made a phone call. I didn’t fly that day. The buyer at the other end of the deal accepted the delay as reasonable.

What resonates with me about that day are the words of a friend as I bemoaned my inability to fulfill my mission in a timely manner.

“You know,” he said, “many a pilot has been buried on a sunny day because they chose to fly when they shouldn’t have.”

The challenge is simple, but not easy. Follow the rules. Make good choices. Avoid falling victim to the five hazardous attitudes.

You’ll live to enjoy many more sunny days as a bonus for behaving yourself.