Leaderboard

There's an old saying in aviation: 'The rules were written in blood.' More often than not, where there's a rule, it's in place to try to prevent more people from killing themselves (and others) than has already happened in the process of doing, or not doing, something in particular. Then again, there's a reason why the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board i.e. the government organization that investigates accidents and determines their causes; that's all accidents, with all kinds of different sections. Aviation is just one section.) and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration i.e. the government organization that writes the rules for aircraft operation within U.S. airspace) are separate entities. When setting up the agencies, they made damn sure to keep the aviation side of the NTSB totally separate from the FAA. This allows for the NTSB to make whatever recommendations it sees fit in the name of improving safety without pressure from the regulatory bodies who actually get to write the rules. As usual, there are plenty of repeated examples of problems that could have been avoided, but weren't as it was deemed too expensive to put a regulation in place against the cost of some property, or even a few lives.

A new skin for Norman Gannet aka Squawk 'Fully Committed' Please delete 485 Squawk and replace with this new one. Cheerzen 485 Squawk.dds

Dan Gryder provided a LOT more info than Juan Brown. Lots to unpack here. Initially I was inclined to disagree Sid and give the benefit of the doubt to the pilot, but in this case after hearing the facts, the only thing he did right was not hit someone. WOW I'm amazed VAC haven't wrecked more aircraft. Flying itself is inherently dangerous but the risks are usually well managed, I would assume much like Fire Fighting. Procedures/regulations are in place for good reasons, (usually the result of previous unfortunate outcomes) I understand the old adage "You get what you pay for" But the VAC seems like the keystone cops of volunteer organizations. (making the largest donor the Director of Maintenance, and he's not even a certified mechanic??) But some rare pilots make it look easy, the late Mr.Hanna or Mr. Hover, who have done seeming spectacular things with aircraft, each demonstrated reliably their complete situational awareness with their aircraft and surroundings. There are way too many "hold my beer" clips on the net of pilots doing insanely stupid things with aircraft, (perhaps some shouldn't have ever received their licenses, a rant for another time) However there are also well flown and scripted clips that from the outside look reckless, but are well planned and well flown. (drunken piper cub pilot demonstration). I feel that there is still room out there for a little spectacle, if done appropriately.