The ground is hard

It is unfortunate to record that each year there are accidents like the above and they are usually fatal. It makes no difference if the aircraft is general aviation VH- registered or an RA aircraft.

When a pilot is trained he or she is taught the basics of flight training and aircraft manoeuvres. The pilot is then tested, gets a licence, and is effectively on their own. On their own means that regardless of their training, pilots, just like new car drivers, have to gain additional experience through flying (or driving). Most will gain that needed experience in a controlled cautious manner but some will throw caution to the wind and do stupid things, things that they were told not to do when at flight school. There is an expression that goes along the lines of, you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. And so it is with pilots doing stupid things down low.

Stalls down low are one thing. Doing unauthorised low aerobatics is another killer of pilots. Mustering is another extreme danger area of flying. A good reason that CASA requires special training and pilot approval for mustering.

Overconfidence, excess testosterone, wanting to show off are all factors.

Yet another killer of pilots and any passengers is the beat-up. Flying fast and low at or over buildings, terrain, vehicles, people or animals. The accident records are rich with beat-up accidents.

Now low flying at high speed can be highly exhilarating. The ground flashes by and there are delusions of playing fighter pilot. Walter Mitty is at the controls. The trouble is that there are things waiting to reach up and grab the aircraft. Unseen power lines, trees, rising ground, antenna masts and the new obstacle will be power mills with their slow moving blades.

RULES ARE WRITTEN IN BLOOD

Yet another area of danger is low flying over water. Low level turns over water in particular. Regardless of what the altimeter says it can be hard to really judge the height of an aircraft over water without reference to an external object such as a shoreline or boats.

Over the years the aviation regulators have laid out minimum heights for flying and various manoeuvres and for good reason. History has shown that if a pilot busts these limits they stand a good chance of creating a job for the accident investigation people. As one experienced pilot rightly said ‘Rules are written in blood’.

‘As one experienced pilot rightly said “rules are written in blood”.’

Now an accident is an accident and the fatals are the worst. Think of the collateral damage. The family or wife has to be told her other half will not be coming home and is in the morgue, not fit to be seen. The police have to contact the family of the passengers with the bad news. The aircraft owner has to be told that he has to make an insurance claim, if he has insurance. Friends are in disbelief. The property owner is contacting his legal party to see if he can claim monies for damage to his property. The local cops then have to get a decision of where to put the wreck after everyone has had a look at it. The list goes on. These were not the thoughts of the pilot.

Inexperience, sheer and simple, is a factor in a lot of low level stalls and flying accidents. With experience comes a realisation that you are far safer flying at a respectable height above the ground. Sometimes that realisation can be slow in coming.

Another factor that should be a very big part in the mind of a low flying pilot is that of the ‘what if’ factor. Is there enough fuel in the selected fuel tank? What is the game play should the engine lose power down low? Is there some reasonably clear space to put the aircraft down on? What is the known power-off glide speed? Considerations, considerations.

Low flying in any form has an element of risk in it. A pilot must realise that and apply due consideration when flying low.

Remember the motto; the sky may be your play space but the ground is hard and so unforgiving.