Airnews, September 2010

GENERAL AVIATION WAKE-UP CALL

IT HAS often been said that the seventh deadly sin of aviation is over-confidence and if one looks at the fatal flying accident record in South Africa during the past few years it is a fair bet that the underlying cause of many can be attributed to this “sin”. Unfortunately, it is something that few pilots recognise, particularly when they are young with very little flying experience under their belts.

Older pilots tend to be wary of over-confidence, but that is not to say that they do not ignore it from time to time. As that classic saying says so well: “There are many old pilots and many bold pilots, but very few old, bold pilots.” When I first qualified for a Private Pilot’s Licence more years ago than I care to remember, I revelled in the thrill of flying, applying all that Battle of Britain pilot and poet John Gillespie McGee had immortalised in his famous poem, “High Flight”. Yes, I “wheeled and soared and spun, high in the sunlit silence.” I, too, “chased the shouting winds along and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air,” gaining more and more confidence as I went.

Somebody was watching me, though. That somebody was Peter Savage, owner and CFI of Natal Aviation, the flying school at the old Stamford Hill Aerodrome where I first learnt to fly.

One day, after a particularly exhilarating flight, he took me aside as I walked into the building afterwards, and said: “Come into my office and sit down.” As I did so, wondering what was wrong, he took out a large book stuffed full of newspaper cuttings and photographs. “I want you to sit here and go through this whole book. Look at every clipping and every photo. Don’t put it down until you are finished,” he said.

HORROR BOOK

The more I looked, the more filled with horror I became because every picture was of a fatal crash – mangled and twisted wreckage and horribly disfigured bodies, even one or two of the aircraft type I flew, and worst still, some of what remained of my late friends who had died in aircraft crashes.

Dumbfounded, I looked up from the book and looked into Peter’s eyes. All he said was: “Never forget what you have just seen. It can happen to you. It will happen to you if you throw caution to the wind. Never, ever, become over-confident. If you do, remember this book. I hope I never have to show you this again.”

Fifty-something years later I can still remember the images I saw in that book. I also remember the ones I have seen in real life, having covered many air crashes as a journalist.

AVOIDING FATAL FLYING TRAPS

I have often wondered whether there are other CFIs who have such books. I imagine that they are very few and far apart. However, I did manage to find someone many years ago who is a pilot and an instructor and who has often expressed to me over a beer or three his worry about flight safety. In fact, he has shown such concern about the on-going general aviation flying accidents, that it is almost as though he feels personally responsible in some strange way for what is happening. It is as though he has not done enough to instil greater safety into the lives of his fellow pilots.

So I was not particularly surprised some years ago when my dear friend, John Lottering, told me about his plans to write a book on air safety. Unlike others who have expressed the wish to write books in the past, I knew that Johan would succeed and last month, he produced the proof.

Johan Lottering

He has written and produced a 220-pageplus book entitled: “Avoiding Fatal Flying Traps” which he aptly describes in the subtitle as a “General aviation wake-up call.” Like everything he does, it is a thorough, well-researched and well produced publication. He also seems to have used what is perhaps his own motto when he wrote: “Organise, organise, organise are the three fundamentals of especially single-pilot operations.” Think about it: It really applies to most facets of aviation.

This is a book which should – nay, must – be read by every student and Private Pilot and if you are a Commercial or Airline Pilot with thousands of hours under your belt and think that you know it all – think again. Maybe it is time to read this book and perhaps learn something new because you are never too old to learn.

At the launch of Johan’s book in Pretoria last month, the Commissioner for Civil Aviation, Colin Jordaan, referred to a lesson he learnt from his father which is also applicable to flying: “Detailed attention must always be paid to contingencies. In this regard flying is and will always remain old fashioned.” Well done, Johan. Let us hope that those who read “Avoiding Fatal Flying Traps” will remember the lessons they glean from it. And, if only one life can be saved from your wise words, then that will mean one less fatality.

I salute you, Johan Lottering.

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