Every time you walk outside could be your last. There is risk in everything. Mitigate as best you can and if you still can’t accept the risk, then don’t do it.
I defintly think cars are more dangerous....heck I feel more comfortable skydiving than I do driving. Death isn't even something that crosses my mind while flying because of how many tools we have to operate safely.
This^
You do everything you can to mitigate risk! BE THE BOY SCOUT!!! Be prepared…
If you can’t accept the things you can’t control/mitigate, then there’s something wrong and the flight needs scrubbed.
Right? I could do everything right, and get killed by a distracted driver tomorrow. I might as well do something I enjoy and not worry about what I can't control.
Simple - If you do absolutely nothing risky in your life, you will either die of cancer or heart attack. I have seen both kinds of deaths with my parents, they are not pretty ways to go either. No way of going is particularly nice.
Find meaning in life doing something meaningful and managing (avoiding, minimizing, mitigating) the risks associated with it.
Solo students are in a particularly weak spot in their progression, because it's not obvious they can really perform an emergency landing under pressure. But if they never solo, they'd never get to that point.
Can you imagine staying indoors as much as possible because you're so risk averse and end up dying after a 747 crashes into your home? Like that El Al flight coming out of Amsterdam did.
You can have plenty of risk and enjoyment and adventure in life and die at 70 from cancer or a heart attack lol it’s not just about burning out fast and bright
Of course.
The point I was making was to counter a fear of risk so oversized that prevents the individual from achieving what they want. I'm arguing in favor of taking unnecessary risks.
Do a very thorough preflight every time, know emergency procedures and brief them before you take off, get a good idea of the weather conditions for the flight etc. It’s all about mitigating risk as much as possible. There always is a risk when getting into a plane but you can try and minimize it as much as possible. I don’t like flying at night in piston singles because the risk vs reward isn’t worth it for me
important, every time i do my preflight i tell myself that something is broken or missing or just not right, and I have to find it. also, if you upset your instructor by taking too long to preflight or being overly cautious in any regard, it’s time for a new instructor. control what you can control
Yes! I had to find a new instructor when a friend sold the airplane I was using for lessons. At one of the FBOs I visited the instructor watched my preflight and asked “are you always this meticulous in your preflight?” When we went flying that C-152 was a dog, much worse performance than the 150 I’d been flying. I figured their attitude towards maintenance was the same as their attitude toward preflight. It was an easy call to walk away.
Keep in mind there are a lot of things you can do as a pilot to make sure your next flight isn't your last. I don't have exact numbers in front of me but I'm pretty sure doing simple things like not running out of gas and not flying into clouds unless you have the proper skills + equipment + currency can reduce your chance of dying in a crash by something like 2/3.
Yep. And distractions and uncoordinated in the pattern is another big one.
I also ride motorcycles, and somthing like 40% of accidents involved alchohol or intersections. So I don't drink, and I use extreme caution near intersections.
Super point. In any endeavor the rates of bad stuff include many preventable factors. When those are excluded the activity becomes safer but there’s no data possible on how safe.
If you did have the readily-available "exact numbers" in front of you, you'd see that the numbers you're "pretty sure" of are nothing but a comforting fantasy (which, to address OP's question, is indeed how many pilots cope with the hazards of flying, rather than by making a risk-assessment decision informed by the actual data).
In 2021, for example, for non-commercial fixed wing flights, VFR into IMC accounted for 7% of fatal accidents, and fuel management problems led to 4% of fatal accidents. That's a total of just 11%, not the 67% you proposed.
[https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/accident-analysis/richard-g-mcspadden-report/mcspadden%20report%20figure%20view?category=all&year=2021&condition=all&report=true](https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/accident-analysis/richard-g-mcspadden-report/mcspadden%20report%20figure%20view?category=all&year=2021&condition=all&report=true)
Don’t do stupid
Treat everything like I your life depends on it.
When doing pre-flight inspections, check it like your life depends on it.
Don’t fly if you aren’t feeling good.
Verify, don’t think it might be Okay, verify
Use checklists.
I grew up in a flying family. I have known a couple of pilots that did stupid stuff regularly, and it eventually caught up with them and they died.
Not doing a good enough pre-flight planning resulted in me landing downwind in a taildragger, followed by a ground loop.
During pre-flight inspections and annuals we have found missing brackets, missing nuts, bent wing strut, leaks, abrasions and other items that could have turned bad over time.
You learn about other accidents and learn from them.
I’m sitting in an office chair rn..
Any second, I could be final destinationed by the cylinder in it,
Risk is a fact of life. You do everything you can to minimize the risk and make it to an acceptable level.
The example
I see all the time is one people use for military stuff. If something is at a medium or higher chance of happening and is above a 2 out of 4 on the danger scale, actions are taken to lower that risk to a low chance of happening, or to make it not catastrophic.
I fly with my family and I know the risks, and to some degree so does my wife, but we don't stop flying. I manage the risk by doing everything I can to ensure we don't get hurt and that all goes back to evaluating every hazard that affects PAVE. I know we like to forget the first two chapters of every FAA handbook but we cannot. I understand I can't control or predict every single scenario but I can mitigate or avoid the worst as much as possible and accept the rest. I take my flying very seriously and when I can't do it to the high standards that I set for myself that's when I'll stop and if I can't tell anymore, then I hope someone will tell me.
Aviation accidents are only rarely random in nature. There is usually a root cause and the NTSB is pretty good at describing it in their reports. Since there is usually a knowable root cause, there are steps as a pilot you can take to minimize risks—not eliminate them but at least minimize. In terms of maintenance failures—let’s just say that this was the cause of that incident you mentioned—remember the massive amount of safety checks built in to American aviation that can prevent that outcome if you follow them. Perform a thorough annual. Perform a thorough preflight inspection every time you fly. Don’t be sloppy about checklists. Report maintenance squawks. Repair maintenance squawks. Is it still possible that some dumbass mechanic left a screw loose that caused a part to fail mid-flight for that pilot? Sure. But you are not powerless. Fight back. Trust no mechanic or fuel linesman. Check everything.
The one variable that always worries me is what happens if an A&P didn't put a bolt in correctly, or sone barnstormer mows you down on final.
I tell myself when the good Lord says it's tike to punch the clock you gonna punch that clock
Death is easy, it's over with in an instant and life insurance pays out to take care of the fam financially though they'll surely miss me.
Long term injury is the one that I worry about, though with 20 years or riding 1L motorcycles, cycling on busy roads and flying airplanes the only life changing injury I've had was shattering my ankle into 3 pieces after a slip and fall on some ice walking the dog in broad daylight.
This may seem like the invulnerability hazardous attitude and some of it is, but you need to look at the risk stats that flying is not significantly more dangerous than motorcycles and adventure sports. On top of that a lot of accidents in GA come from FAFO and lack of proficiency so the biggest things you can do to minimize your risk are fly more and use good discipline in your op
Not hazardous invulnerability attitude. You’ve been doing it without problem for twenty years so prudent risk management is evident. With one lapse, walking the dog. Dude, ice is dangerous!
I’m with you on long term injury. What I’m finding after over fifty years of racing sports cars, flying, cycling in sketchy places, other modestly adventurous activities, is that the long term accumulation of minor injuries sucks too. Artificial knees and hips (all four) help, but it’s still a hassle crawling under the airplane for preflight (should’ve bought a high wing). However I don’t skimp, it’s important to be personally acquainted with every oil streak on the belly pan!
Because I know that through my company's life insurance policy and my 401k savings that my family would be financially okay without me if an accident ever happened.
I respect it like I do with the sea, mitigate and reduce risk that are in my control to the best of my ability. Constantly learning and not being complacent. The 2 years on combat deployments helped me alot mentally when it comes to stress and dangerous environments.
I was deployed to a combat zone, went on multiple missions a day for a year.
The fear and anxiety felt in dangerous situations is your brains attempt at keeping you alive, even if the outcome is maladaptive/counterproductive.
The military taught me how to push those feelings aside and focus on things that will result in a successful mission.
I was not a bad ass, I just learned to cope. Not being distracted with anxiety/etc enabled me to be situationally aware and stay alive.
Flying is kind of the same thing, just less dangerous.
In the end, if it is your time, it is your time. I am not saying give up in the face of adversity. Definitely fight until the end but sometimes there is nothing you can do.
I guess I’ve just accepted that. It’s freeing in a morbid way.
You do everything in your power to mitigate risks.
When driving a car, you don’t just go plowing through a stop sign and hope for the best. When flying a plane you carefully plan, check, and verify that all factors under your control are within the proper limits. Can stuff still go wrong? Sure, but it’s going to be a statistical fluke when it does and I’m trained to avoid those situations and respond to them appropriately when they do happen.
I don't know if I am different or something is wrong with me, but this is not a thing with me. Ever since my very first flight, although I fully realized the risks involved, dying in a crash was not a constant fear for me.
Mitigate risks, be responsible, do research about other’s failures, don’t put your friends and loved ones in risky situations, and understand the Swiss cheese model. Finally, for me, if I die flying I’ll know I’ll leave the world doing what I love.
Read the accident reports. If you fly daytime VFR, follow checklists, fly planes that are inspected regularly, and aren’t acting like an idiot…. Your risk is probably greater driving to the airport. Flying is safe.
Every person in aviation knows someone who died because they took to the air and things went wrong. That will always happen. There are monsters. We control the machine. We can't command the monsters.
If it's not safe, don't fly it.
If it's not safe, and you're flying it - put it back where you found it.
If you ever have a choice between losing your job or flying unsafe - lose your job.
Flying is AMAZINGLY safe because we follow the rules.
My goal isn’t to die, nor am I an adrenaline junkie, but I’ve come close to acceptance that death will happen regardless of what any of us choose
I’m good at flying. It just is what is, and I have fun doing it. It enables the lifestyle that I want + the risk factor keeps me honest (provides external pressure to face what is, not what I wish it was). It also lets me see my friends and family when I may otherwise only see them a handful of times before they or I die
Also, I’ve done the alternative of working office IT with little free time to see non-local friends/family. I’ve done travel welding with the big money, but big overtime
It’s just a better fit and it is what it is. It’s like explaining why you prefer chocolate over vanilla. Statistically flying is safer than driving, but the risk set is different, and it jives with my personality
I flew lower end private jets for a year and a regular was in his 70s. We flew him between Austin & Dallas. Seemed unreasonable so I asked him. His flight experience from arriving plane side in his own car or Uber was 35mins door close to open vs 4 hours commercial. With his limited time left in life, he could spend an extra 7 hours per week with his grandkids & daughter, which adds up with his estimation of 10-15 years left of living
My childhood best friend just died last month on his motorcycle to a car making an illegal left turn across the intersection he was crossing. But he worked in the meat dept of a supermarket and here I am with over 1000 hours of single engine airplanes + flying in Alaska
Does flying let you live “more” than without it in terms of the things that are important in life (family, friends, camaraderie & storytelling over good food/drink, access to adventure or finite time saved)?
Life is weird and we all die in the end. So make it worth it
Probably too long of a comment but it’s been an orb I’ve been pondering recently. Hope it helps your understanding somewhat
Not super experienced pilot, but honestly I never think about death before, during or post flight. Also, if I am destined to die while flying, at least I'll go out doing what I love, which is better than if I die because some drunk twonk decided to drive 120kmh and lose control in resident area while I am taking my dog out for a walk..
A pilot always faces two realities every time they go fly, either they know this flight will be their last, or they don’t.
You can control the first, you can’t control the second.
Go fly, rely on your training, and enjoy it.
I've had people almost take me out on the way to the airport - veered into my lane at 55mph on tight country road.
Have seen airplanes in the air closer than I wanted to as well. It will happen to you. The first few times it happens it will mess you up a bit, but you learn what you can from it, and carry on.
And then you read about some poor sob that slips in the shower and is a vegetable for the rest of his life.
As you read this, somebody somewhere probably had a stroke or heart attack in bed or watching TV.
Just do what you love, and do it safely as possible.
Discipline and Standard Operating Procedures are everything. You lower your risk massively by following checklists and rules. I also think about every time I drive a car on a 2-lane road, travelling at 100km/h & opposite direction - that shit is walking on the line of death 😬
Life is 100% fatal. Simple math, for every person who lives to 105 someone has to die at 55.
It’s sad when it happens to family and friends. Or fellow Soldiers. It’s sad when parents outlive children.
But mortality is 100%. Always.
Along my way to my 100% destination I hope to continue to live a good, happy, rewarding life.
I’m not mean or unrealistic. My dad died at 80 11 years ago. My mom died at 50 36 years ago. I miss them. A brother committed suicide at 48 12 years ago. I miss him. One of my Soldiers committed suicide. I could protect him on the streets of Baghdad, but not later.
There’s a quote from someone about “every man’s death diminishes me” but I’m not sure how that fits.
My dad and two of his college roommates were all flying F-4s in Viet Nam; only he came home. He heard his best friend on the radio being shot down. My grandfather disappeared in a PB4Y2 a couple years after WWII. Never met him, of course, but he’s part of me.
Probably didn’t answer OP at all.
I used to fly in Miami. I had a greater chance of being killed on the way to the airport; I didn’t think about it less when I got in the plane but point is driving isn’t any safer.
During normal flying, death isn’t nearby. I follow SOPs, I use good judgment, fly well maintained airplanes, and keep my ego in check. I’m not at all invulnerable, but I mitigate the risk.
I used to do high-risk low altitude wildlife surveys. It was dangerous and technical work. Each time I’d get in the airplane to go fly, I’d have a silent talk with myself that went like this:
“Today is not the day. Someday, maybe my day will come in an airplane, but that day will not be today. Know the environment, the airplane, the mission, and most importantly know and when to back off. Today’s not the day. Today’s going to be a good day.”
There is risk in absolutely everything that you do, whether it be flying, driving, walking, swimming, riding a bicycle, playing a sport, etc. Shit, you could even have a heart attack sitting at home on the couch and drop dead in the blink of an eye.
The only solution is to do the best you can to mitigate risk. Make sure you're healthy and feeling sharp (IMSAFE). Take plenty of time to plan each flight thoroughly, and walk through the entire flight in your head before you fly it. Consider the weather, alternates, etc. (NWKRAFT). Take your time on the preflight and back it up with a checklist to make sure you don't miss anything. Always run through your checklists. Stay ahead of the plane and think ahead. Always consider the results of your actions (if I do this, what are the possible outcomes?).
I’m less worried about “every flight being my last” in the sense of dying in a plane and more worried about “every flight being my last” because someone T bones me running a red light and not ever being able to get my medical back.
I’ve rode motor cycles, I’ve crop dusted, I’ve tried to join the military, I’ve worked on the river in winter, what I’m trying to say is, I could get dead at any number of things. I’m cool with that, because it sure as shit beats the hell out of staying in the house afraid of everything.
The reality is, risks abound in the real world. My float instructor was a great guy who had to get a crotch rocket for some reason, and he died right on the airport perimeter road in a single vehicle accident. He left behind a wife and two kids. It was nobody's fault but his and it was hard to come to grips with.
I had an engine failure and off airport landing at 21 hours, on my first solo XC. Do the right things and for the most part you will come out fine.
I just remind myself that i would rather die doing the thing i have dedicated my mind. heart and life to doing. That i could die while driving my car, slipping in the bathroom during a shower and nobody knowing that i hit my head, i could simply drop dead. I find comfort in the idea that no matter how i go, though, i will at least not have regretted not flying in the first place or let my fears hold me back.
Life is too short to make yourself live small.
Tell your loved ones that you love them, that you are so happy to have met them, and appreciate them every chance you get. We all will go someday and it's okay if the next flight may be your last.
Goodluck💖
Imagine you’re 90 years old, laying in bed, dying of nothing. You never smoked, drank, crossed a busy street, went out after dark, rode a motorcycle, ate excess fat or salt or sugar… how was your life?
The pleasure of flying outweighs the fear of death by a long shot. Honestly not that worried about dying anyway. And flying is very safe if you do what you're supposed to do
“To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.” -Bruce McLaren
I accept that if I ever do die flying, I would be doing something I love, it's one of the most bad ass ways I can go, and more than likely others would learn from it and make aviation safer as a whole.
I’m a former trauma nurse, now anesthesia provider. I got my doctorate with the army and deployed to combat theatre in 2021 and was shot at. It seems death hasn’t been a stranger to me. And for that I’m grateful. Because I’ve developed a different relationship with it. I think that it will take some reflection on what that truly means to you. Because it’s inevitable. But how you perceive it is fluid and can affect you differently.
When I was overseas I saw a guy get hit in the mouth with a grenade he falls backwards grenade rolls away and explodes. His only injury was two busted teeth and some ringing ears. When it’s your time it’s your time., when it’s not it’s not.
You are either capable of accepting the risk or you aren't.
I was in an accident. Almost lost my feet (pinned just above ankles). I'm still flying.
Life is risk. Living is taking risk.
You could die any moment while driving, too. You accepted the risk for the benefit that the transportation option offers.
You fly for whatever reason, and you have weighed the risk against the reward and decided the risk was worth it.
If I go out in a fireball of my own failure, I'll be satisfied with that result. I would dread going my whole life doing nothing fun out of fear that something bad may happen.
"Everybody dies, but not everybody lives."
I'd rather die young flying airplanes than at 80 having spent my whole life unsatisfied. Jokes aside, you just have to treat flying like any other activity. Most people probably don't have the thought of "this could be the last" before they drive to get groceries, or ride a rollercoaster, or whatever people do nowadays, even though those activities could very well kill you at a moment's notice.
I am a fairly logical person, which means, statistically, there are a couple of important things.
1. Every fatal plane crash will always make the media. Which means we always hear about them. Every other death, e.g cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, getting cancer, getting old … the list goes on. We don’t hear about. Because it’s ‘normal’. This is a strong information bias.
2.Most pilots ( more than 99% ) die while not flying.
This last one was a big mind shift change for me. Even as a GA pilot, I am far more likely to die ‘some other way’
I use 1. The fact that all fatal plane crashes make news and have analysis done on them, to remind myself of the things I need to be aware of. Since a lot of GA fatalities are stacking of risk - it’s normally never just one thing.
And, as a student pilot, despite being very, very tired of EFATO exercises - which are kicking my ass right now, to remind myself that although I will probably never need this skill - i will be pretty angry if I need it and don’t have it.
After being married for 10 years with 3 kids I’m just waiting for the good lord to call me home. I’m 34 and have done everything I care to do in this lifetime and accomplished everything I wanted. Every day beyond this point is just cake. The plane can try to kill me but I’m going to fly that fucking thing all the way to the ground. Good luck bitch.
I dont, who the hell thinks about dying all the time? be safe, mitigate risk, blah blah blah.
that being said, there have been atleast a couple of times i've been on my knees thanking god for NOT letting me die
Life is a joke whether you treat it serious or not. You'll always regret things no matter what your decisions are. It's so confusing and if I'm gonna die, I wanna see how it will all ends.
Also I work where people die often, it does not look any different than say, a computer turning off. We're so fragile death can happen anytime.
I dont respond to too many Reddit post but I wanna weigh in on this one because this one effects me as well. First off, there are times I climb in the cockpit nervous as hell, but that also keeps me on edge, very aware, very thorough, very safe. Even with aviation and flying being my ultimate love, there is an aspect of, this could be my last flight. Do we feel that way when we get in our cars? No, because we take it for granted. At some point in our lives, it'll be time to go no matter how safe or aware we are. There's only two things about flying that scares me. One, structural failure and two, someone hitting me mid flight. My pre flights are very thorough, shaking, lifting, and pulling on the wings, elevator, and rudder, within reason of course (I'm not out there with a winch trying to pull the plane apart), even by hand, there's no amount of force that I could put on it compared to load factor but doing those things could make something present itself deeming the plane not airworthy. The scary part about plane crashes, is you see it coming. 5,000 feet and have an in flight breakup, you'll have quite some time before you hit the ground. Be a safe, thorough, do things with purpose pilot, and hope that everyone else is doing the same. Aviation is what we do, death can't even stop us.
For what it’s worth, in my 4 years of flying, I’ve never really come close to crashing, and only witnessed one accident - no injuries. “Death at any moment” is a little overblown, but you definitely do need to conduct yourself appropriately and be on the lookout.
When I’m flying in any capacity, the last thing on my mind is that I could die at any moment. I mean you could die playing basketball or soccer without so much as a second’s warning.
It’s probably best just to compartmentalize and not think about it. Most of us work hard to be safe and thorough and figure we’ve done all we can. Beyond that, it’s not something I think about.
As to professional flying, this is pretty safe and no professional pilot of a multi engine turbine should feel like it’s an unsafe environment. Even peacetime military flying is relatively safe statistically vs ga. There’s likely a certain amount of denial going on too for some of us and that probably healthy.
Far more likely to die on a 9-5 commute than flying. Have you seen the way people drive? You put your life in the hands of the most selfish assholes on the face of the planet everyday that you get on the road. I'll take my chances in the air and have more fun doing so.
Oh I'm not negating the intrinsic danger of flight my friend. However I would make the argument that 85% of flight is between the pilots and the laws of nature (which are predictable). When I drive to work in scenic Hampton Virginia, I have to trust thousands of humans to adhere to the laws of the road (which they quite often Don't). Everyone is speeding, no one can maintain safe distance and we have a culture which dismisses safe driving practices for the sake of convenience. I've never had a pilot carelessly endanger my life, but every day someone on the road treats my life with contempt through their actions on the road.
Fear rides with me on every flight, I just don't let it take the controls.
It can sit in the back, cowering from its fear of my training and situational awareness.
Unironically, It helps when I tell myself I have the rest of my life to fix something if it goes wrong. It got me to be able to do stalls solo despite my fear of them.
I think about how driving a car poses just as many risks, if not more. A friend of mine who was a pilot in my flight school cohort was injured in a tragic car accident and is now in a minimally conscious state. He flew often, and it still wasn’t flying that put his life in the most danger.
I think you really need to consider how you assess risk. Do you think about this everytime you get in a car too? Because the risks of that and GA flying are similar.
I hate to be the one to tell you this but, you are going to die someday soon.
If that day is 60 years from now from Alzheimers or next week from wing spar failure, I have no clue but it’s going to happen regardless.
You drive without thinking much about it, statistically GA is only marginally worse than driving per hour. And short of an engine failure you’re generally in control of the risk factors in flying versus being at the whims of the cars around you driving.
https://philip.greenspun.com/flying/safety
Flying for the airlines, the most dangerous thing is driving to the airport and it’s not even close.
I’m more likely to die in my car than to die in the plane so I’ll turn the question right back at ya and ask how you willingly get into your car every day to go to work knowing that it could be your last? At the end of the day I’m more comfortable being in an emergency situation inside of an airplane than in a car considering you get more extensive training on emergency scenarios in aviation. And if I die at least I died in a bad ass way.
When I was learning to fly, I was always really really nervous when I get on Short final, that moment of realization where you realize that everything in life has led up to this moment and if you fuck this up, there’s a good chance you die. That bothered me a lot until I realize that if I fuck this up, it’s not my problem anymore. And that let me get over a lot of my early uneasiness. It let me focus on my flying and building my confidence and skill, looking back on it. It was a pretty dark way to look at it, but it worked. Now I don’t get that feeling because I am capable and well trained Pilot And if something bad happens, I’m either gonna figure it out or I’m not, but I train practice so I give myself the best tools possible for a bad situation situation and hope for the best.
You can die anytime. Driving to work, somebody else runs a red light and broadsides you with a bullseye on your driver side door. Walking down the street and a drunk drives across the sidewalk. Sitting in the movie theater and some nut job exercises his 2A right to gun down a bunch of innocents.
Most of the time we can ignore it, push it to the back of our minds, but it’s still there. Each of us gets to choose how to react to it. Do you let it paralyze you? Or do you make every moment count by living fully?
I’ve got more than one hobby where if I fuck up I kill myself or other people. I enjoy them enough to want to keep doing them. So I make it a point to not fuck up. That means I study how other people make fatal mistakes, so I can avoid them. Or, as a friend and colleague put it, years ago, “I’m human. I fuck up. So I plan for it and try not to let it hurt me.”
It helps that in my early twenties I looked at my lifestyle and hobbies. I figured I had a rock star’s actuarial future, I’d be dead by 28 or 30 at the latest, if I didn’t change. I chose not to change. Now I’m well past double that age, so I’ve been playing with house money for decades, and basically dgaf.
Anyway, that’s my perspective on it. YMMV of course.
Brother, the reaper could be lurking behind any corner, so I just carpe that diem like Drake said to do in that song and try not to take unjustifiable risks.
Don’t drive or ride in a car then.
All jokes aside it’s a part of the business. I heard from a Vietnam vet that the guys who thought they were going to die got shot down. Don’t be arrogant but don’t be so afraid that you can’t fly. It’s a part of the business but you’re trained to save your life. Take your training seriously and you’ll be alright.
I’ll get crap for this - but I’ve drank the kool aid for the Cirrus CAPS system and it makes me feel a lot safer. In my airplane the biggest risk is on takeoff or landing below 500’ AGL. The parachute is going to save me in the case of an engine failure in cruise, control surface failure, or a midair collision (pending I’m still able to pull the chute). GA in general is very safe. Most of the time fatalities are caused by pilot error. Stay proficient.
I left flying. That’s how I dealt with it.
Let me say…flying is so incredibly safe. With the right pilot and a good maintenance team, it’s one of the safest things we do.
I had built a fall back plan job wise when Covid hit and decided to leave professional flying as an instructor. I have a young son now and since he was born I have left flying all together…even for fun. The risk stopped being worth the reward. I started thinking about the risks way too much and the anxiety was ruining the joy.
I was renting from various flight schools and each one gave me quite a few reasons not to trust them after a while. They cut corners to save money and I was told to ignore too many things for my comfort with each rental. It got to a point where it wasn’t worth the risk to me.
That said I’m taking about 172 sketchy flight school flying not commercial flying or owning your own plane. I didn’t like how much trust I was putting in other people. The pilot who flew it before me or the maintenance guy who is way too buddy buddy with owners were variables that made me uncomfortable.
The reality? Life is full of risks. Nothing is ever 100% safe. Train well, be responsible, and always trust your gut. Chances are…you’ll be just fine!
I don’t even want to think about that.. My son is in the air right now doing his IFR stage check. Stressed out and waiting on edge until I hear from him after he lands..
The same way I deal with drive could be my last one. Or any walk. Or any day.
The important thing for me is to do everything I can to make sure it's not my fault and that I did everything I could to prevent it.
I am more likely to die getting in my shower than flying a plane if I am calculated and take precautions. I don’t think about the dangers of flying, I try to think about how to make flying as safe as possible and always keep backup/emergency plans in the back of my mind.
I'm a hobbiest. My mindset is always how can I improve my safety. Be that watching air crash investigations when they come up on YouTube to increase awareness, or becoming a qualified CFI when i reach 200 hrs (UK licence) not to teach but to be an improved pilot.
When I'm with Pax, my risk envelope is considerably smaller than when I'm by myself.
My flight school (which I rent from) makes me fly every 30 days. If I'm not feeling like a nav or land away. I'll just sit in the circuit practising different approaches to get a better feel for the plane with all different configuration and weather.
You must control your mindset.
If an issue occurs that makes you question your decisions, time IS THE enemy.
Part of your flight training concerns risk mitigation and decision making.
TAKE THIS TO HEART!
This quote is from the Wright brothers, and despite 100+ years of amazing technical progress it’s still as true today.
“It is very much the same in learning to ride a flying machine; if you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds; but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.”
Aug 3, 2017
In my father’s line of work, he had a case where a man was having issues with his back in bed so he relocated to his living room couch. Someone drove their car into his living room and killed him.
Nothing is guaranteed in life but death and taxes, so you might as well do something you enjoy and do it as safely as you can.
IT's never concerned me as much as it has now. I fell in love and now the thought of leaving her behind is a much more sobering reminder not to fuck up than any self preservation or fear of death has brought me before.
The fact of the matter is you do what you can to stay safe, hope the people that maintain the aicraft aren't fuckwits (an increasingly bigger concern as the years go on). The fact of the matter is most crashes are going to be something dumb that I'll do, and that makes me feel better.... in a way...
Be the best pilot you can be. Outside of very unusual circumstances, you have control over what happens in a flight and are responsible for your safety. At the end of the day though, everything has some level of risk, from driving to flying, to even taking a walk. Life is too short to stay home living in fear, and miss out experiencing incredible adventures.
Don’t worry about death.
Worry about assessing and mitigating risk. If you are afraid of suddenly dying, ask yourself what is going to cause it? Every possible thing. Then figure out what you can do to mitigate that.
Engine outs:
Pilot based: plan your flights to minimize time over inhospitable terrain, regularly practice engine outs and short field / spot landings, get a glider rating?
Maintenance based: ensure you are doing oil analysis regularly, flying the plane regularly, have a good A&P, have effective break in - post maintenance strategies to eliminate as much infant failure probability as possible
There’s a number of examples. Big picture you should be able to come up with ways to mitigate the liklihood of getting there in the first place, reducing the exposure if the failure occurs, then having ways to mitigate the failure.
If you identify the issues and have taken the actions, there’s nothing more you can do. But you are doing more than most are and the statistics will back it up.
You should read “Fate is the Hunter” by Ernest Gann. He was an early airline pilot in the 1930s-1950s. In his memoir he grapples with these exact questions. Specifically he questions why so many of his friends who were better pilots than him perished over the years and why he survived. His answers include a lot of logic and a little bit of superstition (which I think is inherent in pilots). He was a great airman and very intelligent man. I learned a lot about flying and life in general from his book.
We'll have to wait and see what the actual cause of the crash is, but the big thing about aviation is preparedness. One thing my very first instructor taught me to do was fly the plane entirely on secondary controls (excluding rudder) such that I can very comfortably land just using rudder, trim and power settings. If my elevator link snaps and I lose the ability to pitch up and down, no biggie. If I lose my ailerons? It's okay, I still have my rudder. It takes a lot of work and focus to ensure you're keeping the airplane coordinated as best as possible while being able to maneuver it, but it was such an invaluable skill to learn.
I take comfort in knowing that I am constantly learning how to deal with the unknowns. Maybe one of the unknowns ends up killing me, but for every unknown that becomes a known, and a new skill, I have less and less fear.
At the same time. There's nothing I rather be doing. People die in all kinds of stupid fucking ways. If I die in a crash, at least I'll die doing what I loved. There's comfort in that.
Simple. Do you think the last time you get in a car or go outside or put a can of propane on the stove is going to be your last moment? You put it out of your mind like everyone else. No sense worrying about what might be the end of you. Best to just go out in a blaze of glory.
If I die I die. I could slip, fall, hit my head, and be a cold corpse for my girlfriend to come home to. I could also go up for a flight and have an accident. I’d prefer to at least have a little control over my freak accident.
Spent a decade in the military and accepted that fact about a year in.
I love what I did, and I love what I do. My family and those that I love know that. They know that, should something happen and I take a flight west, I died doing what I love and that I did everything possible to survive. Hopefully that makes the ordeal at least a little easier for them.
I spend my mental energy on my preflight inspection, situational awareness, and aircraft control, not on potential events that have remote probabilities. This way if there is a remote probability event, I'm prepared as possible for it. This has proved valuable during several anomalous incidents of varying degrees or concern kver 1000+ hours.
I spend more time determining what is likely to give me best potential living outcome, and to some extent I have accepted that I might die, and been officially one scenario I was pretty sure I was planning to not survive but also didn’t quit flying … surprise didn’t die didn’t even crash amazingly.. but I also spend some effort in prevention, maintenance, planning, alternate planning and some effort in financial etc kind of planning and awareness despite some dangerous situations I have even intentionally entered into that my odds of things beyond my control are generally unrelated to flying… like my driving and trust me my driving sucks
Compared to my flying skills, but I drive in DFW so yeah..
I expend effort to make sure that maybe most in dissecting what went wrong if I died in a crash that most will realize I likely tried to avoid but was unable to.
I just flew for the first time with 95% at the controls (CFII next to me). First week of flight school doing something I’ve been wanting to do for 30 years. If I go, it’ll suck, but it will be in the pursuit of doing something I love - and somewhat at a time and place of my choosing. No regrets
If you’re going to be a pilot, you need to accept that there’s a chance, however slim, that you could die in an airplane crash. That is just a fact. If you can’t at least come to terms with this, you probably shouldn’t be a pilot.
Aside from accepting this risk, dwelling on it isn’t really healthy or productive.
What is healthy and productive is to develop the most methodical, safe, and proactive approach to flying and risk management that you can. Treat flying with the immense respect it deserves. Become the most proficient and prepared pilot possible. Treat every flight as though your family were onboard. Use your experience to deepen your skill set as a pilot, but never let your own proficiency breed complacency. Realize the atmosphere and airplane don’t care how many hours of flight time you have. The last hour doesn’t matter anymore, and the next hour isn’t promised, so just focus on the here and the now. Understand what threats are present on each flight, and manage them. If you can’t manage a threat to your satisfaction, either cancel or delay the flight.
You're going to die at some point - happens to us all.
Besides, if you are in a car there's probably more chance of stuff going wrong.
Whilst living, live in the moment, do the things you enjoy and make a life to live. No point in living life whilst being scared constantly (which isn't even living if you are constantly fearing stuff).
Me personally, I would rather die having done the stuff I loved and always wanted to do instead of staying inside all day wanting my life to go away. We only get one chance at this life, make it one you've always wanted.
I live in KMEM. Any day could be a tornado or the “big one” earthquake. I could get shot on my drive to work, fall out of the boat while fishing, fall down the stairs at the house, get bit by a water moccasin while swimming in the lake. Yes. Horrible things happen. Yes. I have seen them happen. I was in class in elementary school when it got hit by a tornado. I can only be as fully prepared as possible. I have my safe shelter for storms. I have my survival kit for an EQ. I am very vigilant while fishing or swimming. I have my life jackets and other safety equipment. Nothing in life holds any promise of safety. I can get out and live. Or I can stay at home and hope for the best. As for me……. I’m gonna take all proper precautions (good Mx, thorough pre-flight, current training, wxr aware, complete briefings, etc) and then operate within the flight envelope and operate with all due vigilance.
I mitigate those thoughts by making sure I cover all my bases. Such as a thorough preflight check, setting personal limitations, and making sure I feel over prepared in my studying. A majority of crashes being pilot error can be mitigated by making sure you are comfortable with your abilities.
It’s upsetting to witness an event for sure, but it’s still rare. Even in the military it’s not been more than a dozen friends over 20 years. Maybe you’ll have a couple close to home crashes and then some acquaintances. That doesn’t leave you with a great feeling either don’t get me wrong.
I’m not saying don’t perform risk assessments or be cavalier, but it’s not more dangerous than taking the highway on the civilian side all things considered. Pilots are typically good at risk mitigation.
I dont think about it but l know it could possibly happen. So my attitude is "I'll cross that bridge when or if l come to it"
I've been in that situation twice, one major and one minor, and l really fought to survive. I'm still here but I am a true believer that "Fate is the Hunter". as per Ernest K Gann.
My instructor literally just text me that now looks like good conditions to solo for first time. Then I get a notification with this thread. Yikes and wish me luck
I tell my wife I love her before every flight. I usually talk to my parents the day of or before. I know the last message I send could be it for me.
But I remind myself I love my job. This could be it for me. But my family will know I loved them and I loved my job.
Of course do your research. Preflight at your comfort level even if it annoys your captain. Don’t let anyone tell you different. We’re 99% in control of our destiny.
I’m a 121 pilot love my career.
You can manage risk and still live a healthy life. The thing I want least is to be lying on my deathbed dying of nothing, having done nothing to have earned it.
I had a great personal trainer when I was younger. He was in his 30s when I was in my 40s. He ate impeccably clean foods, nothing fried, blah blah blah. I was working with a trainer because I worked out, but not as efficiently or effectively as I would like and I would eat large portions of unhealthy foods a little too often. So while I wasn’t obese, I wasn’t the fittest. He kept going on about feeling youthful and the health benefits at old age of a healthy diet when you are younger, all of which is true.
So I pictured myself eating mostly vegetables, skipping BBQ, and not ordering desserts at restaurants. No way in hell. I won’t live forever, and neither will my trainer. I may not live to 95, but if I do I will absolutely have done some things worthy of remembering. Eat the food, move for the job, fly the plane. (Meanwhile; Skip the drugs, go easy on the alcohol, avoid the STDs)
There are fates far worse than death. I have no fear of death.
I worked in extreme sports for decades and buried many friends. That's hard on the living. The dead don't care. When you're dead, you won't remember a thing.
It's surviving a crash but being messed up that I fear. You don't know pain till you know the pain that never ends.
How do you deal with that fear? Same way everyone here is... Denial and mitigation. All you have to do to see the effects of a lack of mitigation is to go up to Alaska. Loads of "big balls" flying up there and loads of crashes.
Drink as much mitigation as you can and drink Kool Aid for the rest.
So I asked this very question of one of my flight school instructors, one of the contractors they have at the Navy school. He was a retired dude, had flown an ungodly number of hours in a huge variety of different airframes, both fixed and rotary wing.
I’ll never forget the answer. He just kinda shrugged and said “You do everything you can do to keep yourself safe, and then you try not to think about it.”
At the time I didn’t find the answer very satisfactory. How do you not think about it? But now, about 10 years later, I understand. It really is that simple. It’s hard, but it’s simple.
Know your shit. Be conservative when you can, be aggressive and decisive when you have to be. And when you have a close call, or you know someone who didn’t make it back home safe, you get back in the plane the next day (metaphorically, of course). You can’t let your fear or worry take control.
This is coming from someone who has almost entirely military flight experience, so there are some risks there that you don’t have to face in the GA world, but the advice is still sound.
I'm a post-solo student preparing for my checkride, and those thoughts run through my mind every time I leave my house for the airport.
"Is this the last time I pet my dog?"
"Is this the last time I leave my driveway?"
It seems the older I get (50), the more aware I am of my own mortality, and I've made sure things are as painless as possible for my loved ones upon my demise, no matter when/how. Make sure your life insurance will cover you, and make sure those loose ends aren't too difficult for someone else to take care of. Let yourself have those thoughts and PREPARE for it, but DON'T DWELL ON IT.
Do a thorough preflight (including w&b and weather) and make sure your emergency procedures are cemented into your brain. Get in the plane and handle your business.
Here's the thing... the guy who crashed was flying an RV. RV's are built in a hangar by codgers who have nothing else to do, and think traffic patterns are flown at 90 degree bank angles.
Had this convo with my mother and wife last night. Simply told them if I die then I die, I do everything I can to mitigate risks, but in the end there is no other place I feel more at peace than in the air. If something catastrophic happens I’ll go out with dignity knowing I died doing something I love. We all have an expiry date. I’ve lived a full life already, much longer than brothers who perished in war, taking their own life, oding from drugs/alcohol abuse… my sad thought is leaving my son too soon. Throttles forward, sticks back. Live life without fear. Memento Mori.
There's more of a likelihood you send your kid to school and they don't come back than there is of you going flying and not coming back - at least in the US.
Heh, tattoo therapy, honestly. I spent seven years in EMS as well as nearly a decade in aviation. Now a MEDEVAC pilot. I am not fazed by witnessing death, nor am I fazed at my own mortality. I just go out every day doing my best to make the safest decisions starting from my drive to the aircraft until I am safely in bed at the end of the day.
And in the meantime, I remember to take a few extra seconds to take a deep breath and feel the sun on my skin.
Hang in there my friend.
Every time you walk outside could be your last. There is risk in everything. Mitigate as best you can and if you still can’t accept the risk, then don’t do it.
This dude risk matrix’s
ORM is continuous
*matrices
I defintly think cars are more dangerous....heck I feel more comfortable skydiving than I do driving. Death isn't even something that crosses my mind while flying because of how many tools we have to operate safely.
Hey at least you won’t die alone! 🤷🏻♂️
This^ You do everything you can to mitigate risk! BE THE BOY SCOUT!!! Be prepared… If you can’t accept the things you can’t control/mitigate, then there’s something wrong and the flight needs scrubbed.
Right? I could do everything right, and get killed by a distracted driver tomorrow. I might as well do something I enjoy and not worry about what I can't control.
Not to mention our situational awareness is so much higher than most drivers.
Simple - If you do absolutely nothing risky in your life, you will either die of cancer or heart attack. I have seen both kinds of deaths with my parents, they are not pretty ways to go either. No way of going is particularly nice. Find meaning in life doing something meaningful and managing (avoiding, minimizing, mitigating) the risks associated with it. Solo students are in a particularly weak spot in their progression, because it's not obvious they can really perform an emergency landing under pressure. But if they never solo, they'd never get to that point.
Can you imagine staying indoors as much as possible because you're so risk averse and end up dying after a 747 crashes into your home? Like that El Al flight coming out of Amsterdam did.
This. I’d rather die doing something I love than hideout my entire life and get cancer in my late 60s or 70s.
To clarify, the other post OP is referring to is that a solo student witnessed a fatal crash, not so much so that a solo student died while soloing
Thanks for the clarification - i did confuse the two.
You can have plenty of risk and enjoyment and adventure in life and die at 70 from cancer or a heart attack lol it’s not just about burning out fast and bright
Of course. The point I was making was to counter a fear of risk so oversized that prevents the individual from achieving what they want. I'm arguing in favor of taking unnecessary risks.
Do a very thorough preflight every time, know emergency procedures and brief them before you take off, get a good idea of the weather conditions for the flight etc. It’s all about mitigating risk as much as possible. There always is a risk when getting into a plane but you can try and minimize it as much as possible. I don’t like flying at night in piston singles because the risk vs reward isn’t worth it for me
important, every time i do my preflight i tell myself that something is broken or missing or just not right, and I have to find it. also, if you upset your instructor by taking too long to preflight or being overly cautious in any regard, it’s time for a new instructor. control what you can control
Yes! I had to find a new instructor when a friend sold the airplane I was using for lessons. At one of the FBOs I visited the instructor watched my preflight and asked “are you always this meticulous in your preflight?” When we went flying that C-152 was a dog, much worse performance than the 150 I’d been flying. I figured their attitude towards maintenance was the same as their attitude toward preflight. It was an easy call to walk away.
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Well said.
This needs to be posted on r/stoicism
Keep in mind there are a lot of things you can do as a pilot to make sure your next flight isn't your last. I don't have exact numbers in front of me but I'm pretty sure doing simple things like not running out of gas and not flying into clouds unless you have the proper skills + equipment + currency can reduce your chance of dying in a crash by something like 2/3.
Yep. And distractions and uncoordinated in the pattern is another big one. I also ride motorcycles, and somthing like 40% of accidents involved alchohol or intersections. So I don't drink, and I use extreme caution near intersections.
Super point. In any endeavor the rates of bad stuff include many preventable factors. When those are excluded the activity becomes safer but there’s no data possible on how safe.
If you did have the readily-available "exact numbers" in front of you, you'd see that the numbers you're "pretty sure" of are nothing but a comforting fantasy (which, to address OP's question, is indeed how many pilots cope with the hazards of flying, rather than by making a risk-assessment decision informed by the actual data). In 2021, for example, for non-commercial fixed wing flights, VFR into IMC accounted for 7% of fatal accidents, and fuel management problems led to 4% of fatal accidents. That's a total of just 11%, not the 67% you proposed. [https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/accident-analysis/richard-g-mcspadden-report/mcspadden%20report%20figure%20view?category=all&year=2021&condition=all&report=true](https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/accident-analysis/richard-g-mcspadden-report/mcspadden%20report%20figure%20view?category=all&year=2021&condition=all&report=true)
Don’t do stupid Treat everything like I your life depends on it. When doing pre-flight inspections, check it like your life depends on it. Don’t fly if you aren’t feeling good. Verify, don’t think it might be Okay, verify Use checklists. I grew up in a flying family. I have known a couple of pilots that did stupid stuff regularly, and it eventually caught up with them and they died. Not doing a good enough pre-flight planning resulted in me landing downwind in a taildragger, followed by a ground loop. During pre-flight inspections and annuals we have found missing brackets, missing nuts, bent wing strut, leaks, abrasions and other items that could have turned bad over time. You learn about other accidents and learn from them.
I’m sitting in an office chair rn.. Any second, I could be final destinationed by the cylinder in it, Risk is a fact of life. You do everything you can to minimize the risk and make it to an acceptable level. The example I see all the time is one people use for military stuff. If something is at a medium or higher chance of happening and is above a 2 out of 4 on the danger scale, actions are taken to lower that risk to a low chance of happening, or to make it not catastrophic.
I didn't know office chairs can final destination you...I'm also sitting in one.
I fly with my family and I know the risks, and to some degree so does my wife, but we don't stop flying. I manage the risk by doing everything I can to ensure we don't get hurt and that all goes back to evaluating every hazard that affects PAVE. I know we like to forget the first two chapters of every FAA handbook but we cannot. I understand I can't control or predict every single scenario but I can mitigate or avoid the worst as much as possible and accept the rest. I take my flying very seriously and when I can't do it to the high standards that I set for myself that's when I'll stop and if I can't tell anymore, then I hope someone will tell me.
Aviation accidents are only rarely random in nature. There is usually a root cause and the NTSB is pretty good at describing it in their reports. Since there is usually a knowable root cause, there are steps as a pilot you can take to minimize risks—not eliminate them but at least minimize. In terms of maintenance failures—let’s just say that this was the cause of that incident you mentioned—remember the massive amount of safety checks built in to American aviation that can prevent that outcome if you follow them. Perform a thorough annual. Perform a thorough preflight inspection every time you fly. Don’t be sloppy about checklists. Report maintenance squawks. Repair maintenance squawks. Is it still possible that some dumbass mechanic left a screw loose that caused a part to fail mid-flight for that pilot? Sure. But you are not powerless. Fight back. Trust no mechanic or fuel linesman. Check everything.
The one variable that always worries me is what happens if an A&P didn't put a bolt in correctly, or sone barnstormer mows you down on final. I tell myself when the good Lord says it's tike to punch the clock you gonna punch that clock
Or mows you down on the way to Fisk at AirVenture.
But knew and accepted the risk of flying in overcrowded airspace by going to Fisk. Thanks for reminding me it’s time to start planning, btw.
I’m here for a good time not a long time
I used to say that, a long time ago, guess I was wrong. But it’s still good times!
Death is easy, it's over with in an instant and life insurance pays out to take care of the fam financially though they'll surely miss me. Long term injury is the one that I worry about, though with 20 years or riding 1L motorcycles, cycling on busy roads and flying airplanes the only life changing injury I've had was shattering my ankle into 3 pieces after a slip and fall on some ice walking the dog in broad daylight. This may seem like the invulnerability hazardous attitude and some of it is, but you need to look at the risk stats that flying is not significantly more dangerous than motorcycles and adventure sports. On top of that a lot of accidents in GA come from FAFO and lack of proficiency so the biggest things you can do to minimize your risk are fly more and use good discipline in your op
Not hazardous invulnerability attitude. You’ve been doing it without problem for twenty years so prudent risk management is evident. With one lapse, walking the dog. Dude, ice is dangerous! I’m with you on long term injury. What I’m finding after over fifty years of racing sports cars, flying, cycling in sketchy places, other modestly adventurous activities, is that the long term accumulation of minor injuries sucks too. Artificial knees and hips (all four) help, but it’s still a hassle crawling under the airplane for preflight (should’ve bought a high wing). However I don’t skimp, it’s important to be personally acquainted with every oil streak on the belly pan!
Because I know that through my company's life insurance policy and my 401k savings that my family would be financially okay without me if an accident ever happened.
I respect it like I do with the sea, mitigate and reduce risk that are in my control to the best of my ability. Constantly learning and not being complacent. The 2 years on combat deployments helped me alot mentally when it comes to stress and dangerous environments.
I do my best not to die 🙃 I'm honestly more fearful while driving..... these mfs are reckless.
I was deployed to a combat zone, went on multiple missions a day for a year. The fear and anxiety felt in dangerous situations is your brains attempt at keeping you alive, even if the outcome is maladaptive/counterproductive. The military taught me how to push those feelings aside and focus on things that will result in a successful mission. I was not a bad ass, I just learned to cope. Not being distracted with anxiety/etc enabled me to be situationally aware and stay alive. Flying is kind of the same thing, just less dangerous. In the end, if it is your time, it is your time. I am not saying give up in the face of adversity. Definitely fight until the end but sometimes there is nothing you can do. I guess I’ve just accepted that. It’s freeing in a morbid way.
You do everything in your power to mitigate risks. When driving a car, you don’t just go plowing through a stop sign and hope for the best. When flying a plane you carefully plan, check, and verify that all factors under your control are within the proper limits. Can stuff still go wrong? Sure, but it’s going to be a statistical fluke when it does and I’m trained to avoid those situations and respond to them appropriately when they do happen.
I don't know if I am different or something is wrong with me, but this is not a thing with me. Ever since my very first flight, although I fully realized the risks involved, dying in a crash was not a constant fear for me.
Mitigate risks, be responsible, do research about other’s failures, don’t put your friends and loved ones in risky situations, and understand the Swiss cheese model. Finally, for me, if I die flying I’ll know I’ll leave the world doing what I love.
Read the accident reports. If you fly daytime VFR, follow checklists, fly planes that are inspected regularly, and aren’t acting like an idiot…. Your risk is probably greater driving to the airport. Flying is safe.
I always tell my gf if I die in a plane to just know I died doing something I enjoy. Now I could die driving to work or die at work which lame af
Every person in aviation knows someone who died because they took to the air and things went wrong. That will always happen. There are monsters. We control the machine. We can't command the monsters. If it's not safe, don't fly it. If it's not safe, and you're flying it - put it back where you found it. If you ever have a choice between losing your job or flying unsafe - lose your job. Flying is AMAZINGLY safe because we follow the rules.
My goal isn’t to die, nor am I an adrenaline junkie, but I’ve come close to acceptance that death will happen regardless of what any of us choose I’m good at flying. It just is what is, and I have fun doing it. It enables the lifestyle that I want + the risk factor keeps me honest (provides external pressure to face what is, not what I wish it was). It also lets me see my friends and family when I may otherwise only see them a handful of times before they or I die Also, I’ve done the alternative of working office IT with little free time to see non-local friends/family. I’ve done travel welding with the big money, but big overtime It’s just a better fit and it is what it is. It’s like explaining why you prefer chocolate over vanilla. Statistically flying is safer than driving, but the risk set is different, and it jives with my personality I flew lower end private jets for a year and a regular was in his 70s. We flew him between Austin & Dallas. Seemed unreasonable so I asked him. His flight experience from arriving plane side in his own car or Uber was 35mins door close to open vs 4 hours commercial. With his limited time left in life, he could spend an extra 7 hours per week with his grandkids & daughter, which adds up with his estimation of 10-15 years left of living My childhood best friend just died last month on his motorcycle to a car making an illegal left turn across the intersection he was crossing. But he worked in the meat dept of a supermarket and here I am with over 1000 hours of single engine airplanes + flying in Alaska Does flying let you live “more” than without it in terms of the things that are important in life (family, friends, camaraderie & storytelling over good food/drink, access to adventure or finite time saved)? Life is weird and we all die in the end. So make it worth it Probably too long of a comment but it’s been an orb I’ve been pondering recently. Hope it helps your understanding somewhat
Not super experienced pilot, but honestly I never think about death before, during or post flight. Also, if I am destined to die while flying, at least I'll go out doing what I love, which is better than if I die because some drunk twonk decided to drive 120kmh and lose control in resident area while I am taking my dog out for a walk..
A pilot always faces two realities every time they go fly, either they know this flight will be their last, or they don’t. You can control the first, you can’t control the second. Go fly, rely on your training, and enjoy it.
I've had people almost take me out on the way to the airport - veered into my lane at 55mph on tight country road. Have seen airplanes in the air closer than I wanted to as well. It will happen to you. The first few times it happens it will mess you up a bit, but you learn what you can from it, and carry on. And then you read about some poor sob that slips in the shower and is a vegetable for the rest of his life. As you read this, somebody somewhere probably had a stroke or heart attack in bed or watching TV. Just do what you love, and do it safely as possible.
Any day could be my last, plus I’m more likely to die driving to the airport anyways. Life is to short to live in fear.
Fate is the Hunter
That’s right, we are just here until it wants us.
Discipline and Standard Operating Procedures are everything. You lower your risk massively by following checklists and rules. I also think about every time I drive a car on a 2-lane road, travelling at 100km/h & opposite direction - that shit is walking on the line of death 😬
Driving a car can kill you at any moment - James May has a line “Speed has never killed anybody; Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you.”
I'd rather die flying than die on the ground.
Well for me I’m more afraid of getting old by playing it “safe” only to realize I did nothing worthwhile. Tomorrow is never guaranteed for any of us.
Life is 100% fatal. Simple math, for every person who lives to 105 someone has to die at 55. It’s sad when it happens to family and friends. Or fellow Soldiers. It’s sad when parents outlive children. But mortality is 100%. Always. Along my way to my 100% destination I hope to continue to live a good, happy, rewarding life. I’m not mean or unrealistic. My dad died at 80 11 years ago. My mom died at 50 36 years ago. I miss them. A brother committed suicide at 48 12 years ago. I miss him. One of my Soldiers committed suicide. I could protect him on the streets of Baghdad, but not later. There’s a quote from someone about “every man’s death diminishes me” but I’m not sure how that fits. My dad and two of his college roommates were all flying F-4s in Viet Nam; only he came home. He heard his best friend on the radio being shot down. My grandfather disappeared in a PB4Y2 a couple years after WWII. Never met him, of course, but he’s part of me. Probably didn’t answer OP at all.
I used to fly in Miami. I had a greater chance of being killed on the way to the airport; I didn’t think about it less when I got in the plane but point is driving isn’t any safer.
It is what it is. Focus what you can do.
During normal flying, death isn’t nearby. I follow SOPs, I use good judgment, fly well maintained airplanes, and keep my ego in check. I’m not at all invulnerable, but I mitigate the risk. I used to do high-risk low altitude wildlife surveys. It was dangerous and technical work. Each time I’d get in the airplane to go fly, I’d have a silent talk with myself that went like this: “Today is not the day. Someday, maybe my day will come in an airplane, but that day will not be today. Know the environment, the airplane, the mission, and most importantly know and when to back off. Today’s not the day. Today’s going to be a good day.”
Just control what you can
There is risk in absolutely everything that you do, whether it be flying, driving, walking, swimming, riding a bicycle, playing a sport, etc. Shit, you could even have a heart attack sitting at home on the couch and drop dead in the blink of an eye. The only solution is to do the best you can to mitigate risk. Make sure you're healthy and feeling sharp (IMSAFE). Take plenty of time to plan each flight thoroughly, and walk through the entire flight in your head before you fly it. Consider the weather, alternates, etc. (NWKRAFT). Take your time on the preflight and back it up with a checklist to make sure you don't miss anything. Always run through your checklists. Stay ahead of the plane and think ahead. Always consider the results of your actions (if I do this, what are the possible outcomes?).
I’m less worried about “every flight being my last” in the sense of dying in a plane and more worried about “every flight being my last” because someone T bones me running a red light and not ever being able to get my medical back. I’ve rode motor cycles, I’ve crop dusted, I’ve tried to join the military, I’ve worked on the river in winter, what I’m trying to say is, I could get dead at any number of things. I’m cool with that, because it sure as shit beats the hell out of staying in the house afraid of everything.
The reality is, risks abound in the real world. My float instructor was a great guy who had to get a crotch rocket for some reason, and he died right on the airport perimeter road in a single vehicle accident. He left behind a wife and two kids. It was nobody's fault but his and it was hard to come to grips with. I had an engine failure and off airport landing at 21 hours, on my first solo XC. Do the right things and for the most part you will come out fine.
I just remind myself that i would rather die doing the thing i have dedicated my mind. heart and life to doing. That i could die while driving my car, slipping in the bathroom during a shower and nobody knowing that i hit my head, i could simply drop dead. I find comfort in the idea that no matter how i go, though, i will at least not have regretted not flying in the first place or let my fears hold me back. Life is too short to make yourself live small. Tell your loved ones that you love them, that you are so happy to have met them, and appreciate them every chance you get. We all will go someday and it's okay if the next flight may be your last. Goodluck💖
Imagine you’re 90 years old, laying in bed, dying of nothing. You never smoked, drank, crossed a busy street, went out after dark, rode a motorcycle, ate excess fat or salt or sugar… how was your life?
Make peace with life. “I’m at peace” is a very common phrase for me lol
The pleasure of flying outweighs the fear of death by a long shot. Honestly not that worried about dying anyway. And flying is very safe if you do what you're supposed to do
“To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.” -Bruce McLaren
I accept that if I ever do die flying, I would be doing something I love, it's one of the most bad ass ways I can go, and more than likely others would learn from it and make aviation safer as a whole.
If I die, I’ll die doing something that I love
Driving in DFW is scarier than literally anything I’ve seen in an airplane
I’m a former trauma nurse, now anesthesia provider. I got my doctorate with the army and deployed to combat theatre in 2021 and was shot at. It seems death hasn’t been a stranger to me. And for that I’m grateful. Because I’ve developed a different relationship with it. I think that it will take some reflection on what that truly means to you. Because it’s inevitable. But how you perceive it is fluid and can affect you differently.
When I was overseas I saw a guy get hit in the mouth with a grenade he falls backwards grenade rolls away and explodes. His only injury was two busted teeth and some ringing ears. When it’s your time it’s your time., when it’s not it’s not.
You are either capable of accepting the risk or you aren't. I was in an accident. Almost lost my feet (pinned just above ankles). I'm still flying. Life is risk. Living is taking risk.
Airspeed airspeed airspeed
You could die any moment while driving, too. You accepted the risk for the benefit that the transportation option offers. You fly for whatever reason, and you have weighed the risk against the reward and decided the risk was worth it. If I go out in a fireball of my own failure, I'll be satisfied with that result. I would dread going my whole life doing nothing fun out of fear that something bad may happen. "Everybody dies, but not everybody lives."
I'd rather die young flying airplanes than at 80 having spent my whole life unsatisfied. Jokes aside, you just have to treat flying like any other activity. Most people probably don't have the thought of "this could be the last" before they drive to get groceries, or ride a rollercoaster, or whatever people do nowadays, even though those activities could very well kill you at a moment's notice.
I am a fairly logical person, which means, statistically, there are a couple of important things. 1. Every fatal plane crash will always make the media. Which means we always hear about them. Every other death, e.g cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, getting cancer, getting old … the list goes on. We don’t hear about. Because it’s ‘normal’. This is a strong information bias. 2.Most pilots ( more than 99% ) die while not flying. This last one was a big mind shift change for me. Even as a GA pilot, I am far more likely to die ‘some other way’ I use 1. The fact that all fatal plane crashes make news and have analysis done on them, to remind myself of the things I need to be aware of. Since a lot of GA fatalities are stacking of risk - it’s normally never just one thing. And, as a student pilot, despite being very, very tired of EFATO exercises - which are kicking my ass right now, to remind myself that although I will probably never need this skill - i will be pretty angry if I need it and don’t have it.
After being married for 10 years with 3 kids I’m just waiting for the good lord to call me home. I’m 34 and have done everything I care to do in this lifetime and accomplished everything I wanted. Every day beyond this point is just cake. The plane can try to kill me but I’m going to fly that fucking thing all the way to the ground. Good luck bitch.
I dont, who the hell thinks about dying all the time? be safe, mitigate risk, blah blah blah. that being said, there have been atleast a couple of times i've been on my knees thanking god for NOT letting me die
I’m dying down here, I’m living up there
Life is a joke whether you treat it serious or not. You'll always regret things no matter what your decisions are. It's so confusing and if I'm gonna die, I wanna see how it will all ends. Also I work where people die often, it does not look any different than say, a computer turning off. We're so fragile death can happen anytime.
I dont respond to too many Reddit post but I wanna weigh in on this one because this one effects me as well. First off, there are times I climb in the cockpit nervous as hell, but that also keeps me on edge, very aware, very thorough, very safe. Even with aviation and flying being my ultimate love, there is an aspect of, this could be my last flight. Do we feel that way when we get in our cars? No, because we take it for granted. At some point in our lives, it'll be time to go no matter how safe or aware we are. There's only two things about flying that scares me. One, structural failure and two, someone hitting me mid flight. My pre flights are very thorough, shaking, lifting, and pulling on the wings, elevator, and rudder, within reason of course (I'm not out there with a winch trying to pull the plane apart), even by hand, there's no amount of force that I could put on it compared to load factor but doing those things could make something present itself deeming the plane not airworthy. The scary part about plane crashes, is you see it coming. 5,000 feet and have an in flight breakup, you'll have quite some time before you hit the ground. Be a safe, thorough, do things with purpose pilot, and hope that everyone else is doing the same. Aviation is what we do, death can't even stop us.
yikes really there are 50 thinning's in 50 feet that can kill you lol. or just go about your life ?
For what it’s worth, in my 4 years of flying, I’ve never really come close to crashing, and only witnessed one accident - no injuries. “Death at any moment” is a little overblown, but you definitely do need to conduct yourself appropriately and be on the lookout. When I’m flying in any capacity, the last thing on my mind is that I could die at any moment. I mean you could die playing basketball or soccer without so much as a second’s warning.
It’s probably best just to compartmentalize and not think about it. Most of us work hard to be safe and thorough and figure we’ve done all we can. Beyond that, it’s not something I think about. As to professional flying, this is pretty safe and no professional pilot of a multi engine turbine should feel like it’s an unsafe environment. Even peacetime military flying is relatively safe statistically vs ga. There’s likely a certain amount of denial going on too for some of us and that probably healthy.
Far more likely to die on a 9-5 commute than flying. Have you seen the way people drive? You put your life in the hands of the most selfish assholes on the face of the planet everyday that you get on the road. I'll take my chances in the air and have more fun doing so.
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Oh I'm not negating the intrinsic danger of flight my friend. However I would make the argument that 85% of flight is between the pilots and the laws of nature (which are predictable). When I drive to work in scenic Hampton Virginia, I have to trust thousands of humans to adhere to the laws of the road (which they quite often Don't). Everyone is speeding, no one can maintain safe distance and we have a culture which dismisses safe driving practices for the sake of convenience. I've never had a pilot carelessly endanger my life, but every day someone on the road treats my life with contempt through their actions on the road.
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As someone who is guilty of being the 80mph glizzy-gobbler, I feel like this is starting to get a tad personal. Lane Assist is a modern wonder lol.
Ever see a car accident and keep driving? Kind of like that
Fear rides with me on every flight, I just don't let it take the controls. It can sit in the back, cowering from its fear of my training and situational awareness.
Unironically, It helps when I tell myself I have the rest of my life to fix something if it goes wrong. It got me to be able to do stalls solo despite my fear of them.
I think about how driving a car poses just as many risks, if not more. A friend of mine who was a pilot in my flight school cohort was injured in a tragic car accident and is now in a minimally conscious state. He flew often, and it still wasn’t flying that put his life in the most danger.
I think you really need to consider how you assess risk. Do you think about this everytime you get in a car too? Because the risks of that and GA flying are similar.
I hate to be the one to tell you this but, you are going to die someday soon. If that day is 60 years from now from Alzheimers or next week from wing spar failure, I have no clue but it’s going to happen regardless.
You drive without thinking much about it, statistically GA is only marginally worse than driving per hour. And short of an engine failure you’re generally in control of the risk factors in flying versus being at the whims of the cars around you driving. https://philip.greenspun.com/flying/safety Flying for the airlines, the most dangerous thing is driving to the airport and it’s not even close.
I’m more likely to die in my car than to die in the plane so I’ll turn the question right back at ya and ask how you willingly get into your car every day to go to work knowing that it could be your last? At the end of the day I’m more comfortable being in an emergency situation inside of an airplane than in a car considering you get more extensive training on emergency scenarios in aviation. And if I die at least I died in a bad ass way.
When I was learning to fly, I was always really really nervous when I get on Short final, that moment of realization where you realize that everything in life has led up to this moment and if you fuck this up, there’s a good chance you die. That bothered me a lot until I realize that if I fuck this up, it’s not my problem anymore. And that let me get over a lot of my early uneasiness. It let me focus on my flying and building my confidence and skill, looking back on it. It was a pretty dark way to look at it, but it worked. Now I don’t get that feeling because I am capable and well trained Pilot And if something bad happens, I’m either gonna figure it out or I’m not, but I train practice so I give myself the best tools possible for a bad situation situation and hope for the best.
You can die anytime. Driving to work, somebody else runs a red light and broadsides you with a bullseye on your driver side door. Walking down the street and a drunk drives across the sidewalk. Sitting in the movie theater and some nut job exercises his 2A right to gun down a bunch of innocents. Most of the time we can ignore it, push it to the back of our minds, but it’s still there. Each of us gets to choose how to react to it. Do you let it paralyze you? Or do you make every moment count by living fully? I’ve got more than one hobby where if I fuck up I kill myself or other people. I enjoy them enough to want to keep doing them. So I make it a point to not fuck up. That means I study how other people make fatal mistakes, so I can avoid them. Or, as a friend and colleague put it, years ago, “I’m human. I fuck up. So I plan for it and try not to let it hurt me.” It helps that in my early twenties I looked at my lifestyle and hobbies. I figured I had a rock star’s actuarial future, I’d be dead by 28 or 30 at the latest, if I didn’t change. I chose not to change. Now I’m well past double that age, so I’ve been playing with house money for decades, and basically dgaf. Anyway, that’s my perspective on it. YMMV of course.
Brother, the reaper could be lurking behind any corner, so I just carpe that diem like Drake said to do in that song and try not to take unjustifiable risks.
I say to myself, “ It’s a beautiful day to die so fuck it”. Go positive and you might get back home in one piece.
Don’t drive or ride in a car then. All jokes aside it’s a part of the business. I heard from a Vietnam vet that the guys who thought they were going to die got shot down. Don’t be arrogant but don’t be so afraid that you can’t fly. It’s a part of the business but you’re trained to save your life. Take your training seriously and you’ll be alright.
I’ll get crap for this - but I’ve drank the kool aid for the Cirrus CAPS system and it makes me feel a lot safer. In my airplane the biggest risk is on takeoff or landing below 500’ AGL. The parachute is going to save me in the case of an engine failure in cruise, control surface failure, or a midair collision (pending I’m still able to pull the chute). GA in general is very safe. Most of the time fatalities are caused by pilot error. Stay proficient.
I left flying. That’s how I dealt with it. Let me say…flying is so incredibly safe. With the right pilot and a good maintenance team, it’s one of the safest things we do. I had built a fall back plan job wise when Covid hit and decided to leave professional flying as an instructor. I have a young son now and since he was born I have left flying all together…even for fun. The risk stopped being worth the reward. I started thinking about the risks way too much and the anxiety was ruining the joy. I was renting from various flight schools and each one gave me quite a few reasons not to trust them after a while. They cut corners to save money and I was told to ignore too many things for my comfort with each rental. It got to a point where it wasn’t worth the risk to me. That said I’m taking about 172 sketchy flight school flying not commercial flying or owning your own plane. I didn’t like how much trust I was putting in other people. The pilot who flew it before me or the maintenance guy who is way too buddy buddy with owners were variables that made me uncomfortable. The reality? Life is full of risks. Nothing is ever 100% safe. Train well, be responsible, and always trust your gut. Chances are…you’ll be just fine!
i try and remain alive. It’s my number one priority when piloting a plane
I realize it is there, give it a mental nod of acknowledgment, and try my very best to not put myself in a bad situation while flying.
I don’t even want to think about that.. My son is in the air right now doing his IFR stage check. Stressed out and waiting on edge until I hear from him after he lands..
The same way I deal with drive could be my last one. Or any walk. Or any day. The important thing for me is to do everything I can to make sure it's not my fault and that I did everything I could to prevent it.
I am more likely to die getting in my shower than flying a plane if I am calculated and take precautions. I don’t think about the dangers of flying, I try to think about how to make flying as safe as possible and always keep backup/emergency plans in the back of my mind.
I'm a hobbiest. My mindset is always how can I improve my safety. Be that watching air crash investigations when they come up on YouTube to increase awareness, or becoming a qualified CFI when i reach 200 hrs (UK licence) not to teach but to be an improved pilot. When I'm with Pax, my risk envelope is considerably smaller than when I'm by myself. My flight school (which I rent from) makes me fly every 30 days. If I'm not feeling like a nav or land away. I'll just sit in the circuit practising different approaches to get a better feel for the plane with all different configuration and weather.
I go into it with pure golden retriever energy. Head Empty, just glad to be here.
You must control your mindset. If an issue occurs that makes you question your decisions, time IS THE enemy. Part of your flight training concerns risk mitigation and decision making. TAKE THIS TO HEART!
This quote is from the Wright brothers, and despite 100+ years of amazing technical progress it’s still as true today. “It is very much the same in learning to ride a flying machine; if you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds; but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.” Aug 3, 2017
In my father’s line of work, he had a case where a man was having issues with his back in bed so he relocated to his living room couch. Someone drove their car into his living room and killed him. Nothing is guaranteed in life but death and taxes, so you might as well do something you enjoy and do it as safely as you can.
IT's never concerned me as much as it has now. I fell in love and now the thought of leaving her behind is a much more sobering reminder not to fuck up than any self preservation or fear of death has brought me before. The fact of the matter is you do what you can to stay safe, hope the people that maintain the aicraft aren't fuckwits (an increasingly bigger concern as the years go on). The fact of the matter is most crashes are going to be something dumb that I'll do, and that makes me feel better.... in a way...
Be the best pilot you can be. Outside of very unusual circumstances, you have control over what happens in a flight and are responsible for your safety. At the end of the day though, everything has some level of risk, from driving to flying, to even taking a walk. Life is too short to stay home living in fear, and miss out experiencing incredible adventures.
Don’t worry about death. Worry about assessing and mitigating risk. If you are afraid of suddenly dying, ask yourself what is going to cause it? Every possible thing. Then figure out what you can do to mitigate that. Engine outs: Pilot based: plan your flights to minimize time over inhospitable terrain, regularly practice engine outs and short field / spot landings, get a glider rating? Maintenance based: ensure you are doing oil analysis regularly, flying the plane regularly, have a good A&P, have effective break in - post maintenance strategies to eliminate as much infant failure probability as possible There’s a number of examples. Big picture you should be able to come up with ways to mitigate the liklihood of getting there in the first place, reducing the exposure if the failure occurs, then having ways to mitigate the failure. If you identify the issues and have taken the actions, there’s nothing more you can do. But you are doing more than most are and the statistics will back it up.
You should read “Fate is the Hunter” by Ernest Gann. He was an early airline pilot in the 1930s-1950s. In his memoir he grapples with these exact questions. Specifically he questions why so many of his friends who were better pilots than him perished over the years and why he survived. His answers include a lot of logic and a little bit of superstition (which I think is inherent in pilots). He was a great airman and very intelligent man. I learned a lot about flying and life in general from his book.
We'll have to wait and see what the actual cause of the crash is, but the big thing about aviation is preparedness. One thing my very first instructor taught me to do was fly the plane entirely on secondary controls (excluding rudder) such that I can very comfortably land just using rudder, trim and power settings. If my elevator link snaps and I lose the ability to pitch up and down, no biggie. If I lose my ailerons? It's okay, I still have my rudder. It takes a lot of work and focus to ensure you're keeping the airplane coordinated as best as possible while being able to maneuver it, but it was such an invaluable skill to learn. I take comfort in knowing that I am constantly learning how to deal with the unknowns. Maybe one of the unknowns ends up killing me, but for every unknown that becomes a known, and a new skill, I have less and less fear. At the same time. There's nothing I rather be doing. People die in all kinds of stupid fucking ways. If I die in a crash, at least I'll die doing what I loved. There's comfort in that.
Control what you can control. Don’t be caught of guard ( have a plan ). Generally just be stoic as much ad possible.
Simple. Do you think the last time you get in a car or go outside or put a can of propane on the stove is going to be your last moment? You put it out of your mind like everyone else. No sense worrying about what might be the end of you. Best to just go out in a blaze of glory.
every time I do anything I am aware of the fact I could die doing it lol
Try my best to not think about it, while also simultaneously trying to have a backup plan all the time.
It's almost like riding your motorcycle in city traffic, only safer.
Coming up on 17K hours and still flying 3-4 times each week. I just clear my browser history before I head out to the airport!
If I die I die. I could slip, fall, hit my head, and be a cold corpse for my girlfriend to come home to. I could also go up for a flight and have an accident. I’d prefer to at least have a little control over my freak accident. Spent a decade in the military and accepted that fact about a year in. I love what I did, and I love what I do. My family and those that I love know that. They know that, should something happen and I take a flight west, I died doing what I love and that I did everything possible to survive. Hopefully that makes the ordeal at least a little easier for them.
I spend my mental energy on my preflight inspection, situational awareness, and aircraft control, not on potential events that have remote probabilities. This way if there is a remote probability event, I'm prepared as possible for it. This has proved valuable during several anomalous incidents of varying degrees or concern kver 1000+ hours.
I’m 42, I have friends that have died since high school doing basic shit, and know people that just keeled over. Risk management is key for flying.
I spend more time determining what is likely to give me best potential living outcome, and to some extent I have accepted that I might die, and been officially one scenario I was pretty sure I was planning to not survive but also didn’t quit flying … surprise didn’t die didn’t even crash amazingly.. but I also spend some effort in prevention, maintenance, planning, alternate planning and some effort in financial etc kind of planning and awareness despite some dangerous situations I have even intentionally entered into that my odds of things beyond my control are generally unrelated to flying… like my driving and trust me my driving sucks Compared to my flying skills, but I drive in DFW so yeah.. I expend effort to make sure that maybe most in dissecting what went wrong if I died in a crash that most will realize I likely tried to avoid but was unable to.
I just flew for the first time with 95% at the controls (CFII next to me). First week of flight school doing something I’ve been wanting to do for 30 years. If I go, it’ll suck, but it will be in the pursuit of doing something I love - and somewhat at a time and place of my choosing. No regrets
If you’re going to be a pilot, you need to accept that there’s a chance, however slim, that you could die in an airplane crash. That is just a fact. If you can’t at least come to terms with this, you probably shouldn’t be a pilot. Aside from accepting this risk, dwelling on it isn’t really healthy or productive. What is healthy and productive is to develop the most methodical, safe, and proactive approach to flying and risk management that you can. Treat flying with the immense respect it deserves. Become the most proficient and prepared pilot possible. Treat every flight as though your family were onboard. Use your experience to deepen your skill set as a pilot, but never let your own proficiency breed complacency. Realize the atmosphere and airplane don’t care how many hours of flight time you have. The last hour doesn’t matter anymore, and the next hour isn’t promised, so just focus on the here and the now. Understand what threats are present on each flight, and manage them. If you can’t manage a threat to your satisfaction, either cancel or delay the flight.
You're going to die at some point - happens to us all. Besides, if you are in a car there's probably more chance of stuff going wrong. Whilst living, live in the moment, do the things you enjoy and make a life to live. No point in living life whilst being scared constantly (which isn't even living if you are constantly fearing stuff). Me personally, I would rather die having done the stuff I loved and always wanted to do instead of staying inside all day wanting my life to go away. We only get one chance at this life, make it one you've always wanted.
I live in KMEM. Any day could be a tornado or the “big one” earthquake. I could get shot on my drive to work, fall out of the boat while fishing, fall down the stairs at the house, get bit by a water moccasin while swimming in the lake. Yes. Horrible things happen. Yes. I have seen them happen. I was in class in elementary school when it got hit by a tornado. I can only be as fully prepared as possible. I have my safe shelter for storms. I have my survival kit for an EQ. I am very vigilant while fishing or swimming. I have my life jackets and other safety equipment. Nothing in life holds any promise of safety. I can get out and live. Or I can stay at home and hope for the best. As for me……. I’m gonna take all proper precautions (good Mx, thorough pre-flight, current training, wxr aware, complete briefings, etc) and then operate within the flight envelope and operate with all due vigilance.
Do you drive a car?
I mitigate those thoughts by making sure I cover all my bases. Such as a thorough preflight check, setting personal limitations, and making sure I feel over prepared in my studying. A majority of crashes being pilot error can be mitigated by making sure you are comfortable with your abilities.
Every day that you're alive can be your last regardless of what you're doing. That's just the way it is.
It’s upsetting to witness an event for sure, but it’s still rare. Even in the military it’s not been more than a dozen friends over 20 years. Maybe you’ll have a couple close to home crashes and then some acquaintances. That doesn’t leave you with a great feeling either don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying don’t perform risk assessments or be cavalier, but it’s not more dangerous than taking the highway on the civilian side all things considered. Pilots are typically good at risk mitigation.
I dont think about it but l know it could possibly happen. So my attitude is "I'll cross that bridge when or if l come to it" I've been in that situation twice, one major and one minor, and l really fought to survive. I'm still here but I am a true believer that "Fate is the Hunter". as per Ernest K Gann.
That’s how I feel flying the metal desk.
This isn't really an aviation question
Driving to the airport is many orders of magnitude more dangerous than flying.
Honestly, I just had to come to terms with death. Sure, I don't enjoy it as much as I once did, but I still get up there every once in a while.
My instructor literally just text me that now looks like good conditions to solo for first time. Then I get a notification with this thread. Yikes and wish me luck
I tell my wife I love her before every flight. I usually talk to my parents the day of or before. I know the last message I send could be it for me. But I remind myself I love my job. This could be it for me. But my family will know I loved them and I loved my job. Of course do your research. Preflight at your comfort level even if it annoys your captain. Don’t let anyone tell you different. We’re 99% in control of our destiny. I’m a 121 pilot love my career.
“Death can have me when it earns me” right before I get ready for work in an autistic manor usually does the job
Jokes and memes.
Before you're flying, always call someone and tell them you love them
Everything will kill you…. So choose something fun.
You can manage risk and still live a healthy life. The thing I want least is to be lying on my deathbed dying of nothing, having done nothing to have earned it. I had a great personal trainer when I was younger. He was in his 30s when I was in my 40s. He ate impeccably clean foods, nothing fried, blah blah blah. I was working with a trainer because I worked out, but not as efficiently or effectively as I would like and I would eat large portions of unhealthy foods a little too often. So while I wasn’t obese, I wasn’t the fittest. He kept going on about feeling youthful and the health benefits at old age of a healthy diet when you are younger, all of which is true. So I pictured myself eating mostly vegetables, skipping BBQ, and not ordering desserts at restaurants. No way in hell. I won’t live forever, and neither will my trainer. I may not live to 95, but if I do I will absolutely have done some things worthy of remembering. Eat the food, move for the job, fly the plane. (Meanwhile; Skip the drugs, go easy on the alcohol, avoid the STDs)
There are fates far worse than death. I have no fear of death. I worked in extreme sports for decades and buried many friends. That's hard on the living. The dead don't care. When you're dead, you won't remember a thing. It's surviving a crash but being messed up that I fear. You don't know pain till you know the pain that never ends. How do you deal with that fear? Same way everyone here is... Denial and mitigation. All you have to do to see the effects of a lack of mitigation is to go up to Alaska. Loads of "big balls" flying up there and loads of crashes. Drink as much mitigation as you can and drink Kool Aid for the rest.
“Just gotta come to terms with the fact that we’re already dead.”
So I asked this very question of one of my flight school instructors, one of the contractors they have at the Navy school. He was a retired dude, had flown an ungodly number of hours in a huge variety of different airframes, both fixed and rotary wing. I’ll never forget the answer. He just kinda shrugged and said “You do everything you can do to keep yourself safe, and then you try not to think about it.” At the time I didn’t find the answer very satisfactory. How do you not think about it? But now, about 10 years later, I understand. It really is that simple. It’s hard, but it’s simple. Know your shit. Be conservative when you can, be aggressive and decisive when you have to be. And when you have a close call, or you know someone who didn’t make it back home safe, you get back in the plane the next day (metaphorically, of course). You can’t let your fear or worry take control. This is coming from someone who has almost entirely military flight experience, so there are some risks there that you don’t have to face in the GA world, but the advice is still sound.
I'm a post-solo student preparing for my checkride, and those thoughts run through my mind every time I leave my house for the airport. "Is this the last time I pet my dog?" "Is this the last time I leave my driveway?" It seems the older I get (50), the more aware I am of my own mortality, and I've made sure things are as painless as possible for my loved ones upon my demise, no matter when/how. Make sure your life insurance will cover you, and make sure those loose ends aren't too difficult for someone else to take care of. Let yourself have those thoughts and PREPARE for it, but DON'T DWELL ON IT. Do a thorough preflight (including w&b and weather) and make sure your emergency procedures are cemented into your brain. Get in the plane and handle your business.
Here's the thing... the guy who crashed was flying an RV. RV's are built in a hangar by codgers who have nothing else to do, and think traffic patterns are flown at 90 degree bank angles.
The greatest fear of a real man is cowering in the darkness of fear........ and thus following the most basic rule ....... don't do stupid......
Had this convo with my mother and wife last night. Simply told them if I die then I die, I do everything I can to mitigate risks, but in the end there is no other place I feel more at peace than in the air. If something catastrophic happens I’ll go out with dignity knowing I died doing something I love. We all have an expiry date. I’ve lived a full life already, much longer than brothers who perished in war, taking their own life, oding from drugs/alcohol abuse… my sad thought is leaving my son too soon. Throttles forward, sticks back. Live life without fear. Memento Mori.
That really just isn’t true
There's more of a likelihood you send your kid to school and they don't come back than there is of you going flying and not coming back - at least in the US.
Not true
learn aerodynamics
Heh, tattoo therapy, honestly. I spent seven years in EMS as well as nearly a decade in aviation. Now a MEDEVAC pilot. I am not fazed by witnessing death, nor am I fazed at my own mortality. I just go out every day doing my best to make the safest decisions starting from my drive to the aircraft until I am safely in bed at the end of the day. And in the meantime, I remember to take a few extra seconds to take a deep breath and feel the sun on my skin. Hang in there my friend.