SD Happens Only to the Other Guy

摘要

Accidents always seem to happen to the other guy. How could a good pilot, who's a great stick, be lured into the trap of losing reference to his or her surroundings and end up crashing with no knowledge of impending doom? Where was the breakdown that could lead to tragedy? Was poor leadership, training, or inexperience to blame? Maybe, after exploring all possible causes, we just don't know. Unfortunately, many a top-shelf pilot has fallen victim to this loss of reference, and statistics suggest more mishaps will occur in the future. Over the last year, the aircraft-mishap boards (AMBs) for several Glass A mishaps identified spatial disorientation as the cause. Two recent mishaps illustrate that no community is safe from this aviation hazard. The scenarios were different, but, unfortunately, the results were the same. At the last moment, the pilots realized their predicament but were unable to recover, resulting in fatalities and destroyed aircraft.