How many killed?

[framer]

My decision making has been influenced over the years by accidents that hit close to home. I would like to know 3 things from fellow pilots.
1/ how long have you been in aviation?
2/ how many friends / colleagues have been killed in plane crashes?
3/ has that influenced the way you make decisions operationally?
I'll start:

[framer]

1/ 19 years
2/ 3
3/ yes.

[westhawk]

1) 29 years
2) Thankfully only 2 pilots I would consider friends or colleagues have been killed in crashes, though I've unfortunately been witness many more.
3) Absolutely. But I'd say I've been much more affected in my flying behavior by the hundreds of NTSB reports I've reviewed and the close calls I've been fortunate enough to learn from.

[blind pew]

45 years
8 - 4 of which were in my first airline - 6 years.(last 4 were non public transport).

Yes especially after I gained enough confidence to speak out and decided that I would be better of unemployed than dead.

Sadly one authority I have very recently dealt with see their little empire is more important than producing accurate, non political accident reports...so nothing really changes.

Put in perspective had two family members killed in motorcycle accidents and another two serious brain injuries after car accidents...all of the above accidents were primarily not their faults.

[redsnail]

1. Nearly 30 years.
2. 5
3. Yes. Don't push a bad situation. Have at least 2 "outs". Don't do aerobatics unless trained AND in an aeroplane that is certified for aeros.

[lederhosen]

1. 35 years
2. 4
3. Three of the four were highly experienced and all were killed private flying, which the statistics show kills many more professional pilots than die at work.

[exeng]

1) 44 years (only 36 of them flying)
2) One killed in a flight training accident
3) No

[Denti]

1) 26
2) 1
3) Not really, it was off work in a piston single, rather more important are reports both from the company, other companies and the likes of the NTSB.

[albatross]

1) 40 years fixed wing and helicopter.
2) 16 +
3) yes

[one dot right]

30 yrs
4
yes

[galaxy flyer]

1/ 46 years
2/ 12; 7 in military accidents, 5 in civilian accidents, all piston powered light aircraft. 4 of the 5, however were at work hauling checks. Of the 7 military, 5 were ground collisions, 2 mid-airs including one that I survived. Overall, it does make flying sound dangerous.
3/. Yes, don't hit the ground and don't have mid-air!

[ShyTorque]

1) 36 years.
2) Probably well over 20.
3) Of course!

[GGR]

1/43
2/1
3/Yes, (Superb aviator brilliant engineer had to try every toy in the box.....microlight did for him. RIP, ICT).

[Clandestino]

1) 17 years flying, 12 years paid to fly

2) 12

3) not in a direct way, all except one were GA accidents; VFR into IMC, low level maneuvering, IR rated but not very proficient pilot believing he can perform approach down to legal minima and I have neither time or money to scratch my itch for a bit of GA flying. That demise of the acquaintance one class ahead of me when I was lowly PPL affected my attitude towards flying safety is beyond doubt.

[John Farley]

1/ 44 years full time professionally. More part time.

2/ Well over 10 probably not quite 20.

3/ No because I genuinely felt I would have handled the flight differently to the dead pilot. Sorry if that sounds arrogant but I consider I was simply fortunate enough to have had a better relevant education than those who died.

[con-pilot]

1. 42 years full time.

2. Sad to say I've lost count, type of aircraft single engine to corporate jets. Most CFIT, three were in-flight breakups* in clear air causes still unknown, two mid-airs caused by acting stupid, one lost of control while trying to top a thunderstorm in Mexico, one during his performance in an airshow and an engine failure in a T-6, hit a hidden ditch while attempting a gear down landing in a wheat field, the T-6 flipped over on its back, killing my friend and critically injuring the passenger.

3. Yes, no matter how good you think you are, you really are not and always leave a back door open.




* In-flight break ups/structural failures in flight. Two Turbo-Commanders 690As and a Jet commander. No significant convective weather involved, two were in clear air, one at cruise and the other, the Jet Commander, was in a climb from 24.0 to 31.0.

[wiggy]

1. 35 years (mix of military and civilian).

2. More than 10.

3. Can't really come up with anything better than c-p's advice of:

no matter how good you think you are, you really are not and always leave a back door open.

[Heathrow Harry]

1/ how long have you been in aviation? 35
2/ how many friends / colleagues have been killed in plane crashes? 12
3/ has that influenced the way you make decisions operationally? yes

[604guy]

1) 43 this August, 39 fulltime as a living
2) 7, witnessed 1
3) yes, learn early on when to say no

[sablatnic]

1/ 38 years of private, ultra light, hang glider and glider flying. No parachuting. Yet.

2/ 7 (3 light aircraft (one glider tug, one meat bomber, one bad case of get there itis), 1 glider, 1 hang glider, 1 ultra light autogyro, 1 parachute) And seen a glider being reduced to kindling, with the pilot surviving :-)

3/ Not really, Most of them were caused by the sort of flying I wouldn't do anyway.

Glider tug made stall turn into final after dropping rope, stalled and crashed.

Parachute plane took off vfr into imc.

Get there itis, wanted to take the plane home vfr in imc conditions, to fly in the weekend, hit tree on base.

Glider, midair in the circuit.

Hang glider (Gryphon) tip stalled into the cliff, as they were prone too.

Autogyro showed off in very turbulent weather, crashed in the middle of the airfield.

Parachutist cut away the main and took to the reserve at 150 ft. after midair with another parachutist.

The glider reduced to kindling came in a bit low, hit a twig on a tree, the pilot getting confused and forgetting to fly the plane, cartwheeling down the runway, suffering only two broken legs.

[AerocatS2A]

1. 20
2. 6
3. Not really, not consciously anyway. One was in a helicopter and I don't encounter the type of situations that killed her. One was in a Pitts Special and the cause was not obvious, suffice to say nothing came out of the investigation that would change how I fly a Pitts or aerobatics in general. Another was in an ME109, ultimate cause unknown as far as I know, and not the type of machine I'm likely to fly. Another flew a Tiger Moth up a valley that he couldn't successfully turn out of, I don't believe I would have put myself in that position prior to his accident so no change in my operational decisions. Another appears to have flown into snow covered granite embedded in cloud. I had already had VFR in bad weather situations that modified my operational decisions.

I actually get a lot more out of incidents that happen to colleagues that don't result in injury or death.

[flugholm]

1/ 27 years.
2/ About a dozen, including two or three close friends. And I witnessed about eight crashes, including one where I was the sole pilot. None was fatal, but all of them could have been.
3/ Yes. As they say, "Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself."

Oh, and by the way, I don't know anyone who was killed "on the way to or from the airfield".

[Dan Winterland]

1. 33
2. 7
3. Yes. One was the subject of a detailed accident report from which everyone could learn.

[Dan Winterland]

Oh, and by the way, I don't know anyone who was killed "on the way to or from the airfield".

I do. Falling asleep while driving home after a long haul flight. Not included in my staistic, but something we can learn from!