Michael wrote:
To them, there are ATP's,
there are those who don't yet have the hours to get the ATP but are
working towards that goal and will breeze through the checkride when
the time comes, and there are the weekend warriors who aren't really
serious about their instrument flying and certainly are not entitled to
an opinion about how a night-IFR operation should be conducted.
snip
It's far more likely that he actually does know what he is doing,
and if it doesn't seem that way to you, the cause is your inexperience,
not his stupidity or recklessness.
All this discussion of elite ATPs and fuel starvation makes the timing of
this AOPA article rather coincidental:
Selecting your fate: fuel starvation
http://www.aopa.org/asf/epilot_acc/dfw05ca087.html
Pertinent quotes from the article:
----------------- start quote ---------------------
On March 12, 2005, a 24,611-hour ATP made a forced landing in an open field
after a total loss of engine power while on a visual approach to Runway 13
at Lancaster Airport in Lancaster, Texas. He and the one passenger were not
injured. The pilot did not visually check the fuel tanks prior to takeoff
and could not recall what the fuel gauges indicated during the flight. He
thought both auxiliary fuel tanks were full, and both main fuel tanks were
almost full. While descending for the approach, the pilot moved the fuel
selector valve from the left main tank to the right main tank. Very shortly
after, the engine quit. The pilot unsuccessfully attempted to restart the
engine by switching the fuel selector valve back to the left tank and
cycling the throttle.
snip
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of this accident was the
pilot's mismanagement of the available fuel supply, which resulted in a
total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
------------------- end quote ---------------------------------
--
Peter
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