Too many accidents

keskiviikko 5. syyskuuta 2018 23.35.53 UTC+3 Andrzej Kobus kirjoitti:

Unfortunately, accidents have always been part of the sport. We have more slippery gliders, fly at higher wing loadings...

We have been preached about dangers of slippery gliders since late 60's. Would this, 2018, be a good year to finally forget this? There has been several pilot generations that have flown only slippery gliders without any indication that they are dangerous. In fact, dangerous would be to let these pilots fly non-slippery vintage without proper briefing.

Modern gliders are safer to fly (and crash) than older gliders.

Several posters have raised the issue of declining reflexes with advancing age. Especially so in flying and particularly in gliding.
This surely must be at least a causal factor in many accidents and even more incidents. I don't believe its so much a matter of complacency amongst aging pilots (50). More a failure to recognize that continuing to do what we have been doing for some years is no longer good enough. Aging requires positive compensatory/offsetting action to counter waning reflexes and senses so as to maintain a high standard of inflight analysis, and situational awareness.
A highly experienced glider engineer friend is now in his 50's. He says that he longer double check his work...he triple checks it.
I recognise that I now need to be extra thorough with my flight planning, checks, lookout and overall self discipline and airmanship if I want to continue in this great sport for as long as safely possible.
Laurence Hoffman
Sydney Australia

On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 4:33:35 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Several posters have raised the issue of declining reflexes with advancing age. Especially so in flying and particularly in gliding.

Certainly declining reflexes contribute to accidents. No question about it. However, general aviation does not often require lightning quick reflexes. I think there's a story about some famous pilot who was asked what he would do in an emergency and his answer was something like "First, I'd wind my watch..." meaning he would take a few seconds to think before acting. I suspect the aging related decline that is more relevant to accidents is a decline in our situational awareness. One specific decline is in our ability to perceive how a situation is changing. How long does it take us to recognize that our airspeed is decaying? How quickly do we perceive changes in yaw rate or pitch rate? We may do pretty well and compensate by being mindful of our growing deficits as we age, but as we approach some threshold of function, we might begin to have episodes where we momentarily jump well beyond a threshold of critically reduced function due to fatigue, dehydration, low blood sugar, whatever. I've seen old guys who would fly 9 of 10 flights flawlessly, then inexplicably drive a ship onto the runway or into a field at high speed and end up in a pile of busted fiberglass.

Maybe we need the advice of some folks who specialize in studying and treating cognitive decline in aging.

On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 8:51:33 AM UTC-7, WB wrote:
On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 4:33:35 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Several posters have raised the issue of declining reflexes with advancing age. Especially so in flying and particularly in gliding.

Certainly declining reflexes contribute to accidents. No question about it. However, general aviation does not often require lightning quick reflexes. I think there's a story about some famous pilot who was asked what he would do in an emergency and his answer was something like "First, I'd wind my watch..." meaning he would take a few seconds to think before acting. I suspect the aging related decline that is more relevant to accidents is a decline in our situational awareness. One specific decline is in our ability to perceive how a situation is changing. How long does it take us to recognize that our airspeed is decaying? How quickly do we perceive changes in yaw rate or pitch rate? We may do pretty well and compensate by being mindful of our growing deficits as we age, but as we approach some threshold of function, we might begin to have episodes where we momentarily jump well beyond a threshold of critically reduced function due to fatigue, dehydration, low blood sugar, whatever. I've seen old guys who would fly 9 of 10 flights flawlessly, then inexplicably drive a ship onto the runway or into a field at high speed and end up in a pile of busted fiberglass.

Maybe we need the advice of some folks who specialize in studying and treating cognitive decline in aging.


I'm an older pilot, and the main difference I notice is that my stamina is much reduced. I can perform well initially, but at the end of a long day at the airport, my performance is reduced because I'm tired. I try to guard against this now, and limit my flight lengths and my duty time at my club. I suggest younger people also watch for this in their older friends. Reflexes, I don't notice any reduction, although this may be present, probably because I intentionally act fairly slowly (impulsivity is one of the dangerous attitudes).

Now what's the difference between retired and retarded? The new job is staying in shape. My daily walk is some 8 km up and down over hilly terrain in temperatures from +37 to -30 C.

It's not the years that will sideline you. It's the onset of deterioration or a debilitating medical condition. Staying in shape may delay the inevitable - no guarantee.

Errare humanum est. What is an acceptable error rate - given that there's no such thing as a perfect flight? The worst error is the one you don't recognize.

Along with the faulty human component, Mother Nature or mechanical failure can hand you a nasty surprise (many of which are not covered by the training curriculum) at any moment. The more you fly, the more more you are exposed.

On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 11:04:18 PM UTC-4, George Haeh wrote:
Now what's the difference between retired and retarded? The new job is staying in shape. My daily walk is some 8 km up and down over hilly terrain in temperatures from +37 to -30 C.

It's not the years that will sideline you. It's the onset of deterioration or a debilitating medical condition. Staying in shape may delay the inevitable - no guarantee.

Errare humanum est. What is an acceptable error rate - given that there's no such thing as a perfect flight? The worst error is the one you don't recognize.

Along with the faulty human component, Mother Nature or mechanical failure can hand you a nasty surprise (many of which are not covered by the training curriculum) at any moment. The more you fly, the more more you are exposed.

Very good points. I would add that the biggest problem might be modern diet.. Meals full of starches and easy sugar that drive glucose levels of healthy people high followed by a crash. This keeps repeating all day long. Along with this roller coaster goes our concentration. Of course the roller coaster is not only with glucose level but also with hormones. Eat well without loading on starches, sugars and fruit juices and you will be able to perform much better. Very are very few people who can handle the modern diet, especially once they cross into their 40s. Treat yourself to a full fat cheese as a snack, nuts, proteins and other healthy snack and you will find your brain working like in your 20s, but that takes time.