My CFII was more like "You can do a 0/0 takeoff. Here. Let me show you how dumb they are." *proceeds to scare the crap out of me*
Well, the Sheriff just placed the blame for the deaths of five people on the pilot's "poor judgement" without having a single fact other than less than optimal weather and the opinion of his (unnamed) "chief pilot", whose qualifications have not been disclosed.
Yep, and it's tough because every aviation accident gets a ton of media attention, which doesn't do any favors for GA.. unfortunately, I feel like the typical cause is usually something along the lines of "pilot's failure to X" and X is usually something very obvious like VFR guy not flying into IMC, or continuing into worsening conditions, or fuel exhaustion, etc.
It always is, NTSB boilerplate.
I don’t know, but that’s not what I was referring to. He insinuated that people who are questioning this pilot’s decision to launch are telling themselves that this could never happen to them because they are too smart for that. My point is that ADM addresses this attitude.
So you are familiar with it, you just assumed that anyone who questions this pilot’s decision to launch isn’t.
That was directed at your comment, not the pilot that died. I don’t know what played into his decision making or what his attitude was. I only know that he attempted to launch into very challenging conditions that were temporary, and he is no longer alive.
Exactly same here, when I tried this using the DG for takeoff - found it difficult to stay within runway bounds - told my CFII I would never attempt such takeoff for real, but if this guy had some visibility - say 1000 ft (< 1/4 m)- I (probably) would have no problem taking off if IFR current and having full confidence in the airplane.
Perhaps it is there to let pilots make their own decisions about safety. Like for example flying over mountains at night in a single engine airplane, for some it is unthinkable , others do it routinely.
Yea I wouldn’t launch in those conditions in a piston twin or single. If I’m in my work jet, it’d be no issue.
I probably read too much into your initial comment. I wasn't considering the other comments posted when I responded, only those I posted. Since you didn't quote me, it was probably unfair to assume you were responding to my post. I apologize for the confusion. Reading back through it, we agree on the larger issue. But there are other things at play in the conversation that have been assumed or unaddressed where I disagree with you. I will specify those in the future so as not to muddy up the discussion.
I know (or have heard of) many airline pilots who refuse to fly IMC in any single engine piston. Since this is the main environment I fly in, we are clearly on opposite ends of the spectrum. Are they right? If being 100% safe = "right", then sure, but that's not practical.
Watch out boys, we got us a real Internet badazz!
Probably because a majority of them haven’t set foot in anything but a jet in years. I still fly GA pretty regularly and fly single engine hard IMC when I need to. All of my GA is flying is done in the northeast, mid Atlantic, and some central U.S, so terrain is mostly not a concern. If I flew out west, I’m sure I’d change my flying habits.
They are challenging based on my experience and knowledge. Any irregularities or deviations from the absolute norm become more difficult to manage in those conditions. On any risk assessment I've ever used, weather of this nature drives the risk up and it complicates the decision making. Any risk assessment that ignores this type of weather isn't worth using. If you are concerned about a culture of safety as your initial post suggested, publicly trivializing the effects that weather has on flights like this isn't helping your cause.
