Two green, no red, one in the mirror....(long)

I know several former pilots that hung up their wings after a
particularly frightening experience. They gained a sudden
realization
of the risks involved with their activity and weren't prepared to
deal
with it.

It's even more common with family of pilots. I know a particularly
egregious example.

A good friend of mine used to own a C-177RG. He geared it up.

Of course it wasn't his fault. My friend bought the plane used. The
plane had hydraulic hoses that were original (25 years old) and he
instructed his A&P/IA to replace them at annual. The guy didn't, and
he also didn't tell my friend that he didn't. A few months later, one
of them burst. In the Cessna system, once a hose bursts you're done.
The manual extension only provides a backup for the pump.

My friend did all the right things. He tried to get the gear down by
the emergency extension procedure, shking the plane, etc. He diverted
to a major airport with emergency services. He made a flyby to confirm
gear state. He flew off most (but not all) of his fuel. He killed the
engine in the flare, over the runway. He made a perfect minimum-energy
landing and kept the wings level far into the roll. The emergency
crews actually applauded, it was so letter-perfect.

My friend's wife wouldn't fly with him after that. She gained a sudden
realization of the risks involved.

My friend sold the Cardinal and bought a Bonanza. He won't let the
same A&P/IA work on it anymore, and has begun to do much of his own
work, having learned that you can't trust a shop. He has had years of
incident-free flying. It's a MAJOR challenge to get his wife into the
airplane.

Michael