Dudley Henriques wrote:
Dallas wrote:
On Mon, 1 Oct 2007 02:58:02 +0000 (UTC), Paul Tomblin wrote:

Three years ago, the DE who passed me on my private and instrument
tickets
died in a stupid accident.

Sorry, but you've peaked my curiosity a bit. I'm wondering how a DE, who
should in theory be very familiar with aviation safety, could died in a
stupid accident.

Can you tell us what happened?


Happens frequently. I'm working with an accident right now that involves
a highly experienced demonstration pilot who suddenly and for no
apparent reason began a Split S at an altitude below that required for a
recovery.
Any pilot, no matter how experienced, can suffer a "brain fart" for lack
of a better term. The study on how to prevent this from happening both
to myself and to others has occupied a great of my time for the last
fifty years or so.


What are your preliminary conclusions as to how to prevent this?
Obviously, ruling out the "stupid acts" is fairly easy, but I also
wonder about the pilots who really and truly seem very careful and
meticulous yet someone succumb to an apparent moment of weakness.

Matt