Originally Posted by
Lead Balloon
Any pilot who publicly criticises and condemns another pilot, about matters aviation, is many things. "Professional" is not one of them.
Any pilot who publicly attributes an aviation accident or incident to another pilot's error, alone, is many things. "Wise" is not one them.
So, one fine day, flying GA, after lunch with the boys, a fellow Pilot from a competing Charter company dashed out to his aeroplane, rushed the preflight, tookoff, next thing I heard was a faltering engine, then a thud with a lot of dust. In his rush to preflight and takeoff, he forgot to check the fuel selector.
Is it therefore unwise and unprofessional to call out such stupidity and warn others or just use weasel words and tiptoe around the "real" issue, the Pilot's Error?
What are current statistics for Pilot Error, something on the order of 50% for airline accidents involve Human Error and at least 80% for all Aviation accidents? Face up to it. Being a professional means you face up to that fact, know you are not perfect and work your ass off to mitigate the risk factors and human error.
Or, don't. I don't care. Just hope I am not your passenger. I have enjoyed my career for 36 years, no accidents, no incidents, no violations, in the 47 countries I have operated and seven ATPLs.