Dan Luke wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote:

Any pilot, no matter how experienced, can suffer a "brain fart" for lack of
a better term.

Quite so. And the consequences of a pilot's BF are much more likely to be
fatal than a driver's.

Yet we often see posts in these groups from pilots who imagine that their
superior judgent and skill have made them sufficiently immune from these
lapses that they are safer flying than driving. This rather juvenile illusion
of superiority contributes to the distressing fatal accident rate of private
GA flying, I believe.



Pilots have to learn early on that there is a difference between
confidence and over confidence. They also have to learn that being a so
called "conservative" pilot doesn't mean that when aggressive action is
required NOW that they will have the option of thinking out the problem.
Flying is not unlike many other endeavors where preparation, practice,
training, and the ability to think on your feet are absolute essentials
to survival.
Pilots who concentrate on only one of the many aspects required of the
flying venue are the ones prone to accidents.
It's fine to have superior skill. In fact, for a pilot, it's a
requirement. Where the problem arises isn't in thinking you have
superior skill. The problem arises when you think you have superior
skill and actually don't have it. :-)

--
Dudley Henriques