Rant: Airline and Airplane Crashes

[Ophir]

Maybe it is just me, but there seems to be growing popularity to threads about airplane crashes and even worse, airline crashes. I am particularly adverse to the airline crashes because they involve so much speculation. And I have been guilty of being involved in that speculation. Maybe there is too much of an urge to learn from the mistakes of other pilots, so we don't make the same mistake. But in truth, no one will truly know what happened in most of these cases until we see the conclusion and evidence from an exhaustive investigation.

Crashes are a part of aviation, unfortunately. But there is a world of critics out there who speculate on the causes of these crashes and create a whirlwind of myths and untruths. I think that as professional pilots and perspective professional pilots we owe to our industry to talk more about facts that to speculate about what happened.

I would like to know what everyone else feels about this and I would hope we could change our trend of speculating and keep our discussions closer to the facts.

[PhotoPilot]

Amen. Armchair, Monday-morning pilots (even if they're pilots in real-life) piss me off. I know that a lot happens in my cockpit that nobody on the ground could correctly guess about after the fact. Even worse are the guys who have no clue what really happened and make criticisms and prononcements based on media coverage.

Sit down and let the people who do that kind of thing for a living figure it out! Someday it could be one of us who slid off a runway and has every Joe Blow with a pilot certificate proclaiming that they know what happened and how *they* would have saved the situation.

[JEP]

There does seem to be more posting about it lately. I try my best not to speculate about causes. For me it is more of a "how did this happen?" "what could have been done diferent?" etc....

I regularly read through the NTSB database regarding crashes. If nothing else, but to learn some of the ways that these accidents occur. It is my hope that I learn something from it so that I do not make these same mistakes myself. It really amazes me how many of these accidents, people run out of fuel, go below MEA in IMC, and what would seem like very avoidable accidents.

Maybe by trying to figure out how things happen, it leads to speculation but I do my best to try and avoid that. As with the recent MDW crash, it is easy to see they ran out of runway. In trying to figure out how, I 'speculated' as to how that occurred. Could it have been this, or that, or the other thing. I think that's only a natural progression of thought. I would see the problem being when someone says this happened because.....this, that, or the other thing. On that Chuck, I would agree the speculation is no good.

my $.02 worth.

[pilot602]

Originally Posted by Ophir

Maybe it is just me, but there seems to be growing popularity to threads about airplane crashes and even worse, airline crashes. I am particularly adverse to the airline crashes because they involve so much speculation. And I have been guilty of being involved in that speculation. Maybe there is too much of an urge to learn from the mistakes of other pilots, so we don't make the same mistake. But in truth, no one will truly know what happened in most of these cases until we see the conclusion and evidence from an exhaustive investigation.

Crashes are a part of aviation, unfortunately. But there is a world of critics out there who speculate on the causes of these crashes and create a whirlwind of myths and untruths. I think that as professional pilots and perspective professional pilots we owe to our industry to talk more about facts that to speculate about what happened.

I would like to know what everyone else feels about this and I would hope we could change our trend of speculating and keep our discussions closer to the facts.

I'm not condoning the speculation but it's human nature. Hell, even the NTSB reports, at the end of the day, are more often than not just speculation with a government seal stamped on it.

I'm guilty of it, every one of us here is guilty of it. How do we stop it? We don't because we can't. We can however try to glean something from it and guide those who are a little too far out back to the center. We can teach and educate those who are speculating with no background an no knowledgeof what they are speculating on it.

Most of all I think we can, really, only show respect for fallen comrades by trying to make sure the best, most educated "speculation" be propagated and that the truth (or the best version thereof) be known to all who will listen, and even to those who won't.

[junior]

Lots of postings lately because lots of accidents and incidents lately. You're right leave the speculations to the NTSB.

[tonyw]

I'm with you, Ophir. I really think we should stop speculating and let the NTSB do their investigation before saying anything other than, how horrible the incident was.

[flyover]

I don't see what's wrong with it. It's our profession. Not crashing takes up a lot of our effort and attention. And when it happens we exchange views about it. Why that upsets some people/pilots is what I dont understand.

The truth is that many accidents are not mysterious at all. And I don't trust the NTSB any more than any other government agency.

[sorrygottarunway]

Yes, quite a bit goes on in the cockpit that we don't (or will ever) know about- it is impossible to have the same "picture" that the crew had where they were sitting. Speculation would be the only possible way to the cause of an accident- until the evidence starts supporting that. The problem with the media is that they want the story "right now," and will not wait for that evidence to come through. We as pilots probably have more knowledge than the media, but again, we still won't have the whole picture.

In the words from a flight I jumpseated on to go home the other day, the captain said to me:

"my only ground rule for the flight is- this cockpit is like Las Vegas. What ever happens in here, stays in here. But you already knew that."

[cessna2351]

I think alot of this is fueled by the media. Ever since the Jetblue incident in LA, the cable news channels are jumping at the chance to go live to something like an aircraft circling to land with so much as a burnt-out lightbulb. I write this after watching breaking news this morning on CNN about a L45 in St. Louis which landed safely after 'landing gear' problems.

[pilot602]

Originally Posted by cessna2351

I think alot of this is fueled by the media. Ever since the Jetblue incident in LA, the cable news channels are jumping at the chance to go live to something like an aircraft circling to land with so much as a burnt-out lightbulb. I write this after watching breaking news this morning on CNN about a L45 in St. Louis which landed safely after 'landing gear' problems.

Why do you think the media is so fast to jump on these stories? People watch it. They tune in. When people tune in it equals ratings. Ratings equal money.

The only people we have to blame, in regards to what the media puts on the air, is ourselves because we tune in and watch.

The media is a reactionary animal, it reacts to what what it's audience wants. Right or wrong that's how it works.