Thin Line

I read this entry on FL250 the other day and this one at IFR Pilot today.

I remember early on in my training begin younger and single I had no real issues with the safety of small aircraft. I had always been interested in flying so I was glowing in the fact that I had finally begun my training.

Over time I began to here stories related both in print and personally about so and so friend, relative, aviation good guy, who had perished in an accident. I realized that was the main difference between the driving and flying crowd. It is a rare person who has had someone close to him or her killed in a car accident, even rarer for more than one. It seemed all too common in aviation.

Some of that has to do with the size of the community of flyers. We are really a small number compared to the rest of the non-pilots. Motorcyclists share some in common with this I believe. I heard a similar story from a motorcyclist friend, who recounted the number of folks who had had unfortunate outcomes from their riding.

The old adage of the most dangerous thing in flying is the drive to the airport isn't true and just doesn’t hold up to any real scrutiny(It’s not as dangerous as some in the news media would indicate either, but that’s not the point), and is a straw man to what is really important. Granted I feel safer and more in control in the air.

These stories only serve to remind me that the line can be thin between a good or bad outcome in aviation, and I should do everything to keep the line strong.