Techtation
Yeah, spell check tells me that “techtation” is not a word… Oaky, I acknowledge, but I’m going to use it anyway…
Elsewhere, we have read about incidents and accidents, which have at least as factors, pilots continuing flight into weather conditions beyond their capability. This, sadly, is not new, it’s been happening for as long as we’ve been flying. But recent technological improvements in avionics should be lessening this risk – Is the risk being lessened? It doesn’t seem so…
When I learned to fly in the mid ‘70’s, having more than a clunky tube comm radio in a GA plane was a luxury. Having a gyro attitude indicator was a maybe, not a certainty. Maybe there was a VOR or ADF nav, but not certain, and GPS was unheard of. So navigation and terrain avoidance was mostly finger on chart, and determining attitude was looking out the window. If you went “eyes in”, there was not much to direct you.
The evolution of cockpit information has been astonishing! I have my fair share of Garmin glass cockpit time, including the most recent touch screen PFD in a Cessna Caravan I flew in December. There was more information presented, than I could think to ask for! It was several hours of VFR flying before I figured out what some of the arcs and lines on the display were telling me. Certainly useful information, but information which decades ago I would have figured out roughly with some mental math. The avionics designers are surpassing themselves, and each other in presenting more and more information at less cost.
But is this making VFR flying more safe? Perhaps not at the rate we would think. We continue to have accidents where very capable aircraft are flown by adequately capable pilots into unsuitable conditions. I opine that in many cases, these pilots suffer from techtation, where they know that they have ample technical capability in the aircraft, but that knowledge lures them into worsening conditions. I admit this failure in my own flying from time to time. I’ve caught myself about to follow the magenta line, and thinking to myself “I don’t have enough information to continue along this line, maybe I should turn around”. I guess I’m here, because on those occasions I did turn around it was probably the better decision. I’ve done my fair share of IFR flying, but it’s my decision to not fly in those conditions anymore, so I choose to remain VMC.
My Fire Chief would say to the drivers about our four wheel drive fire trucks “Four wheel drive is to get you out, not for you to get further in”. Similarly, pilots of very capable aircraft being operated in a VMC environment, probably should consider the ultimate in that capability only for use after they’ve made the decision to turn around from deteriorating weather…..