Safety, yet again...

Jay Honeck wrote:

...I conclude that I may eliminate many of the "stupid pilot tricks"
from my personal risk assessment.

Can you really? I recall one of your particular Sun-and-Fun return trip
write-ups (perhaps last year) that had a moment that could be classified as
a stupid pilot trick, namely continuing VFR into deteriorating weather and
scud running.

Here it is:
http://tinyurl.com/n3ptz

My point is simply to suggest that no matter the experience, we all have
engaged in some piloting behaviour that could be classified as a "stupid
pilot trick." To suggest that you can eliminate SPTs from your personal
risk assessment is ignoring that which you do seem to still possess in some
small degree.

Instead of admitting that types of accidents can be eliminated from my risk
assessment, I still use them to motivate me not to make them.

--
Peter

...I conclude that I may eliminate many of the "stupid pilot tricks"
from my personal risk assessment.

Can you really? I recall one of your particular Sun-and-Fun return trip
write-ups (perhaps last year) that had a moment that could be classified as
a stupid pilot trick, namely continuing VFR into deteriorating weather and
scud running.

Um, if you actually READ my account, we performed a 180 and landed the
plane. I believe this is the prescribed procedure to follow when one
runs into deteriorating weather?

Instead of admitting that types of accidents can be eliminated from my risk
assessment, I still use them to motivate me not to make them.

That is obvious, and goes without saying. Any other reading of my
"eliminating them from my personal risk assessment" is a
misconstruction of my intent.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Um, if you actually READ my account, we performed a 180 and landed the
plane.

If I hadn't READ the original story, that anecdote wouldn't have popped
into my mind when enjoying your latest thread, no? Actually, I thought you
would have been slightly impressed with the fact that some drop in the
Usenet ocean actually remembered a two year-old story of yours.

I believe this is the prescribed procedure to follow when one
runs into deteriorating weather?

In any case, flying at 700 feet *prior* to your 180 was the act to which I
was referring. With the literal explosion of 1,000+ foot digital towers
going up around the country, were you were absolutely certain that the
particular area in which you were scud running was clear of these obstacles
before dropping down to that altitude?

Are you implying that prior to embarking on your return trip, you checked
the VFR chart notams for that lengthy route, from Florida to Iowa, in the
event you needed to drop below a 1,000 ft ceiling in low visibility
somewhere along the way? Was your wife in the right seat following your
exact route on the VFR sectional chart to ensure your continued clearance
of all charted objects? If you really did that then I *sincerely* am
impressed with the thoroughness of your VFR flight planning skills and your
cockpit resource management skills.

However, if not, then dropping below a lowering ceiling in low visibility
over an unfamiliar area certainly would be classified as an SPT, regardless
of the outcome.

--
Peter