ASOG Article of the Month | April 2023
Source | Patrick Ryan
It might seem weird if you spend time reading aviation accident reports. Perhaps, for many aircrews, evading such readings is a choice made to guard a belief that “it won’t happen to me.” However, it’s not weird but practical.
Learning from the mistakes of others, no matter how unpleasant the outcomes of their errors, can improve the knowledge and attitude of any aircrew member (rated or non-rated), no matter the experience level.
Reading the initial reports and final accident investigation findings, even the initial description of these reports, you can learn or spot the error(s) that lead to the accident. Reviewing these reports can be sobering, especially for fatal accidents. However, it’s good practice to strengthen your aviator skills and not fall into traps that others have previously made.
If you read accident reports – and you should – you may ask yourself a common question: why was the pilot or crew doing what they were doing in the first place? Unfortunately, it’s often a rhetorical question that even hindsight struggles to justify.
It can be taken as an axiom that, in so far as it concerns most aviation accidents, “airplanes don’t crash, pilots do.” Poor crew decisions are inevitably at the root of such incidents. So, again, If you want to prevent pitfalls in airmanship into which others have already fallen, paying attention to accident reports should be part of your process.
To help you, the ASOG Desk Editor added an area on the ASOG homepage called “Safety.” In addition, the Safety section has links to the Aviation Safety Network. Here you’ll see initial (24/7) accident reports, final investigation reports, and other aviation accident statics. So, what are you waiting for? Start reading!
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