DylanAviation

Recently a West Palm Beach, Florida pilot lost his life in an aircraft accident. The aircraft reportedly lost power shortly after take off. The pilot attempted to return to the airport. His maneuvering ended abruptly in a stall spin event.

One of my customers, I will call him Zeke, saw the entire episode. He said the airplane appeared to have enough altitude to complete the maneuver, and the pilot was making a shallow turn. Zeke thought the pilot “had it made”. The sudden and tragic ending was a stunning surprise to Zeke, and it really bothered him. Zeke realized that this type of accident could happen to any pilot.
• Zeke had never done a maximum performance level 180 degree turn;
• Zeke had never recovered from a nose high attitude using the ballistic zero g recovery technique.
• Zeke had never attempted the turn and go back maneuver

Zeke and I flew together a few days later, and we practiced emergency maneuvers. After our flight:
• He is much more confident;
• He is committed to improving this stick and rudder skills;
• He better understands the full capabilities of his airplane;
• He has a better sense of situational awareness.

If you have never learned to do emergency maneuvers:
• you need to learn how.
• You need to think about them,
• You need to Practice them.

Turn and go back, or land straight ahead? Are you prepared to make that decision? In an emergency you will fly the way you trained.