On Sep 30, 10:36 pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:
During the fifty odd years I've been involved in professional aviation;
most of that teaching in and flying high performance airplanes I've
buried 32 of my friends and associates. My wife was with me through
forty of those years and knew many of these people personally.
I've dealt with this issue both in my own home and as an adviser to others.
I can tell you this in all sincerity and honesty.

Hi,

I'm a student pilot, and I am very curious to know what percentage of
that 32 can be attributed to pilot error.

Also, I agree.

When I get my certificate, I plan to use same discipline that I use on
my bike. I (very ocassionally) get up to 150 mph on my VFR-800, and
this freaks people out, especially my sister, who worries and asks me
if it is dangerous, and I tell the truth. But the danger is not on a
straightaway. Danger happens during momentarily lapses of self-
discipline at 30mph. On a recent 440 mile round-trip to family
gathering, on the way home, it was 3:00 A.M, with about 8 miles to go,
my legs were cramping up so bad that none of the "stick-leg-out-while"
tricks would work. I started musing about all the bad things that
could happen, because of simple leg cramps. "What if there is a
mattress in road, not able to rake because legs won't move..what if I
pass out..." Then, in an epiphanous moment, I thought, "Darwinism
might be in action, at this very moment. Pull over." I calmly pulled
my bike over to side of road, turned it off, parked it, and waited, in
total darkness, for 15 minutes until my circulation got right again.
My legs were so cramped, I could barely dismount without falling over.
I have no idea whether I would have wrecked if I had tried to hold out
those last 8 miles. But that's the point. I did not, because I made
sure. I managed my risk.

I told this story to my family and it helped them relax. Maybe you
could tell a similar story to your wife.

-Le Chaud Lapin-