Fine insight Dudley. To me its a little different in the test pilot
world than GA. For the most part, the things that kill us are things
we can control. In the test pilot world, theres a large area of
unknowns that can kill a pilot. Skill allows the pilot to address the
unknowns, but luck certainly helps as well. In the flying that most of
us on the NG do, the most likely cause of the accident is us. Quite
frankly, I don't want my legacy to be that I was foolish enough to fly
with empty tanks, into a level 5, etc. For the most part, the things
that kill us are lessons that were learned years ago. Do we really
another stall/spin accident to tell us that stall training is
important? Are death contributes little to the knowledge base of
aviation safety.

I enjoy flying, but if I'm going to die doing something I really enjoy,
I'd rather it be in bed with a supermodel.