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#1
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Why Soaring's Safety Record Doesn't Improve
Ever ask yourself, why doesn't our safety record improve? We seem to have the
same type and about the same number of accidents every year. Lets take the *controls not hooked up*, its about time for another one of those. Every year a couple of guys will try to fly without hooking up a control. This type accident is 100% preventable. Why can't we put a stop to it? The answer is simple, we don't have the power to control it. The airlines wouldn't put up with it. The military would have no problem in eliminating it. Clubs have the power to stop it. How about the individual sailplane owner? We got the power to control his/her actions? No we don't and just try and get a little muscle and listen to the screams. I tried to get the *wing tape sign off* adopted by asking my local FBO's to refuse to give a tow unless the tow pilot saw a wing tape sign off on each sailplane wing. I got ZERO replies from the 5 FBO's I asked to try the plan and several of them had experienced accidents caused by controls not hooked up. Our safety record will not improve because we don't have the power to enforce rules designed to make soaring safer. JJ Sinclair |
#2
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That's the same as asking why highway accidents can't be reduced.
The same goes for motorcycles, skydiving, and anything worth doing. gill JJ Sinclair wrote: Ever ask yourself, why doesn't our safety record improve? We seem to have the same type and about the same number of accidents every year. Lets take the *controls not hooked up*, its about time for another one of those. Every year a couple of guys will try to fly without hooking up a control. This type accident is 100% preventable. Why can't we put a stop to it? The answer is simple, we don't have the power to control it. The airlines wouldn't put up with it. The military would have no problem in eliminating it. Clubs have the power to stop it. How about the individual sailplane owner? We got the power to control his/her actions? No we don't and just try and get a little muscle and listen to the screams. I tried to get the *wing tape sign off* adopted by asking my local FBO's to refuse to give a tow unless the tow pilot saw a wing tape sign off on each sailplane wing. I got ZERO replies from the 5 FBO's I asked to try the plan and several of them had experienced accidents caused by controls not hooked up. Our safety record will not improve because we don't have the power to enforce rules designed to make soaring safer. JJ Sinclair |
#3
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"JJ Sinclair" wrote in message ... Ever ask yourself, why doesn't our safety record improve? We seem to have the same type and about the same number of accidents every year. Lets take the *controls not hooked up*, its about time for another one of those. Every year a couple of guys will try to fly without hooking up a control. This type accident is 100% preventable. Why can't we put a stop to it? The answer is simple, we don't have the power to control it. The airlines wouldn't put up with it. The military would have no problem in eliminating it. Clubs have the power to stop it. How about the individual sailplane owner? We got the power to control his/her actions? No we don't and just try and get a little muscle and listen to the screams. I tried to get the *wing tape sign off* adopted by asking my local FBO's to refuse to give a tow unless the tow pilot saw a wing tape sign off on each sailplane wing. I got ZERO replies from the 5 FBO's I asked to try the plan and several of them had experienced accidents caused by controls not hooked up. Our safety record will not improve because we don't have the power to enforce rules designed to make soaring safer. JJ Sinclair I'm convinced that safety can't be found in stricter rules or inspections. The very nature of flight is that it takes place beyond the reach of these. Safety is in the attitude and skillset of the individual pilot. Danger lies between the ears of the pilot, not in the hardware or rulebook. This is a classic cautionary tale of misdirected concern. When I was a student pilot long ago, you would see pilots shaking the wingtips of their wooden gliders up and down at the resonant frequency of the wing while staring at the sweep second hand of their wris****ches. The idea was that the natural frequency would change if the strength of the wing deteriorated. They were REALLY worried about old wood wings. One day a wing failed and two died. The FAA and NTSB took the separated wing to a lab and measured its strength. They found it had failed at 14 G's. The pilot and his passenger didn't die from a defective wing, they died of terminal stupidity. The pilot simply overloaded a perfectly good wing while attempting aerobatics. I'll bet right up to the point the wing broke he was sure he was safe because he was a wing shaker. The next time you fly, take a second to look at the hand holding the stick. Life and death is right there. Move it a couple of inches the wrong way and you die. If you find that thought uncomfortable, find a good instructor to fly with. Bill Daniels |
#4
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I tried to get the *wing tape sign off* adopted by asking my local
FBO's to refuse to give a tow unless the tow pilot saw a wing tape sign off on each sailplane wing JJ, While this is a great idea, the implementation is far different. I have seen pilots do a "PCC" and not catch the disconnect or reversal. The core problem, I think, is HOW the pilot does a PCC. Jim Vincent CFIG N483SZ illspam |
#5
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JJ Sinclair wrote:
Ever ask yourself, why doesn't our safety record improve? We seem to have the same type and about the same number of accidents every year. Lets take the *controls not hooked up*, its about time for another one of those. People seem to think evolution is always forward, but in fact our noggins are major consumers of energy, sources of heat loss, etc., and the moment they lose their ability to offer an evolutionary advantage, they'll evolve away. In short, nature is perfectly capable of, and will in fact tend towards, building a better idiot. |
#6
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Not true!
The Swedish Soaring Federation has been delegated all authority over gliding by the Swedish CAA. Since 1993 we have reduced our accident rate by 50%. You do not need a lot of rules, you need a few good rules, and the power to enforce them! Robert Gill Couto wrote: That's the same as asking why highway accidents can't be reduced. The same goes for motorcycles, skydiving, and anything worth doing. gill JJ Sinclair wrote: Ever ask yourself, why doesn't our safety record improve? We seem to have the same type and about the same number of accidents every year. Lets take the *controls not hooked up*, its about time for another one of those. Every year a couple of guys will try to fly without hooking up a control. This type accident is 100% preventable. Why can't we put a stop to it? The answer is simple, we don't have the power to control it. The airlines wouldn't put up with it. The military would have no problem in eliminating it. Clubs have the power to stop it. How about the individual sailplane owner? We got the power to control his/her actions? No we don't and just try and get a little muscle and listen to the screams. I tried to get the *wing tape sign off* adopted by asking my local FBO's to refuse to give a tow unless the tow pilot saw a wing tape sign off on each sailplane wing. I got ZERO replies from the 5 FBO's I asked to try the plan and several of them had experienced accidents caused by controls not hooked up. Our safety record will not improve because we don't have the power to enforce rules designed to make soaring safer. JJ Sinclair |
#7
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I fly for my own challenge and enjoyment. I risk only myself
and the tow pilot (I also tow for my club). The airline and military pilots fly a mission for the benefit of the organization, using the organization's equippment. Those pilots are not out for satisfaction, challenge or enjoyment. Yes, you could increase safety in soaring by adding rules, policies and procedures. You would also reduce the FUN of soaring so that nobody actually flys anymore, that would also reduce the accident rate. Todd Smith |
#8
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While I know many airline pilots who fit your description, that is not true
for most military pilots. I loved flying fighters. I would do it again in a heart beat if they would let me. "Todd Smith" wrote in message om... I fly for my own challenge and enjoyment. I risk only myself and the tow pilot (I also tow for my club). The airline and military pilots fly a mission for the benefit of the organization, using the organization's equippment. Those pilots are not out for satisfaction, challenge or enjoyment. Yes, you could increase safety in soaring by adding rules, policies and procedures. You would also reduce the FUN of soaring so that nobody actually flys anymore, that would also reduce the accident rate. Todd Smith |
#9
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Robert,
I don't know if a program like this would be implemented in the US, where I fly. But I would like to learn its details hoping to learn something and apply it to my own flying. This is the first time I read about hard evidence of systematic safety improvement. Where can I get more information? Regards Miguel At 20:30 14 May 2004, Robert Danewid wrote: Not true! The Swedish Soaring Federation has been delegated all authority over gliding by the Swedish CAA. Since 1993 we have reduced our accident rate by 50%. You do not need a lot of rules, you need a few good rules, and the power to enforce them! Robert |
#10
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Before making or enforcing rules, it would be prudent
to get some real and up-to-date information. The SSA annually publishes an abstract of US fatal accidents, which may or may not be complete. But many accidents and 'incidents' go unreported, or are reported but not recorded or followed up. An accessible and reasonably complete database of things that have gone wrong might lead to useful and acceptable suggestions for future accident abatement. When people are shown WHY rules are made, with supporting evidence, they generally self-enforce [Darwin had some thoughts on this]. However, in the end, we all accept a certain degree of risk by choosing to fly, and that means that some accidents will always happen either by bad luck or bad judgment. Neither can be legislated or enforced away. Ian At 22:12 14 May 2004, Miguel Lavalle wrote: Robert, I don't know if a program like this would be implemented in the US, where I fly. But I would like to learn its details hoping to learn something and apply it to my own flying. This is the first time I read about hard evidence of systematic safety improvement. Where can I get more information? Regards Miguel At 20:30 14 May 2004, Robert Danewid wrote: Not true! The Swedish Soaring Federation has been delegated all authority over gliding by the Swedish CAA. Since 1993 we have reduced our accident rate by 50%. You do not need a lot of rules, you need a few good rules, and the power to enforce them! Robert |
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