So it's best to err on the side of the possibility that might well kill an
unsuspecting person?


Yes.

The freedom to fly is the freedom to put people in danger, the freedom to make
mistakes that can kill, and the freedom to make bad decisions. With this
freedom comes responsibility - the responsibility to minimize the danger so
much as is reasonable under the circumstances, This responsibility belongs to
the Pilot In Command. It is what being the Pilot In Command means. It is not
to be minimized, lest it get minimized on all of us.

I am not arguing to do =nothing= and walk away as if this were an acceptable
decision with an expected outcome. This was (after the fact) clearly an
unacceptable decision with a fortunate outcome. I emphasize "after the fact"
because every one of us has a different level of skill, judgement, experience,
equipment, and risk tolerance, and it is not up to somebody else to make risk
decisions for us. There are too many people who are waiting in the wings to do
just that. Of all people, passengers are not the ones to be trusted with these
kinds of decisions (despite the fact that every now and then the passenger is
right and the pilot is wrong).

What I am advocating is to ensure that any conversations or actions take place
with the pilot, either directly or through channels designed for that (such as
the Aviation Safety Counselor). Putting the passenger in the equation will
only mess things up, as he or she is (generally) not in a position to
understand the nuances of the decisions being made.


I wouldn't characterize it as a mere "mistake" to deliberately continue VFR
in IMC, and to deliberately continue into thunderstorms (and to do so with
an unsuspecting, non-pilot passenger, no less).


It is a mistake. IT is a mistake in judgement. A big one to be sure, but so
are some of the icing issues being discussed in another thread right now.
Flying an airplane that is not icing certified into known or forecast icing
conditions is a huge mistake in judgement, and can cause death to the pilot,
passengers, and people below. At least some will argue that. Some will argue
differently. Should the passengers be told how reckless =that= is?


If my passengers had been in serious danger, I would certainly want them to
know about it.


.... and you would tell them, wouldn't you? (not do do so would be to, as you
say, "trick them into continuing to fly
with me by witholding such critical information from them;")You wouldn't want
other people to tell them what an ass you were in the sky - you'd want your own
opportunity to do so.


Whatever choice she would make if she knew what had almost happened to her,
it's her right to decide--not her husband's, and not yours or mine.


Neither of us is making that choice for her.

Jose



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