tacpot,
So why (according to Gottfredson) so you not see the same results with car drivers? Is there a difference between 'air sense' and 'road sense'? Surely both are just examples of 'good judgement'.
As she calls this remarkable maybe she doesn't have an answer either.
I'd throw out the theory that the hardest thing about learning to fly is making the money to pay for lessons. Making money is directly related to IQ. So only 'clever' (and that is a very poor way to describe people with higher IQ) people learn to fly due to economics, and that level is higher than the IQ threshold needed to fly a plane safely.
Obviously the same cannot be same about cars, because the entry level of money and experience to get a drivers licence is pretty damned low.
Most light aircraft accidents are caused by pilot errors which in hindsight are blatently stupid. High IQ does not protect against these stupid mistakes because they are by definition 'stupid'
Pushing it......
Hang on, got some more.
If my theory is correct, you would expect to see dumb kids with wealthy parents have more accidents. These people did not have to pass the initial hurdle of being able to make the cash to buy the pilot's licence. This would explain those words of wisdom 'more money than sense'.