An acquaintance of mine - not a close friend, but someone I have worked with - is missing and presumed dead following a light plane accident in the Rocky Mountains 2 weeks ago. The pilot, who had recently taken a one-day introduction to mountain flying, apparently offered her a sight-seeing trip; on the return journey, as nearly as I can piece together from the newspaper reports, he took off between two weather fronts. Running into a front in a narrow mountain pass is bad enough, but having your escape route cut off by a second front behind you is about as bad as it can get, IMO. The weather at his destination was scattered thunderstorms more or less all day, but it's unlikely that made a difference, as they probably never got close to completing the journey. It appears they either flew into the trees and went straight down, or flew directly into the side of a mountain, probably in blinding rain. The ELT did not activate and SAR never found any sign of them.

Now, IMO the pilot should have known better. However, the passengers, like most non-pilots, simply trusted him to know what he was doing; they lacked the training and the knowledge that would have told them this was an accident waiting to happen.

Assuming that we can't sit all our loved ones down and run them through 3 weeks of intensive ground school, what tips would you give a non-pilot that would enable them to decide whether the pilot they were about to entrust their lives to was worthy of that trust? What are some simple rules of thumb that a non-pilot could learn easily? What is the most important thing, in your opinion, that a non-pilot should learn, in order to make an informed go/no-go decision?

I am planning to run a Flight Safety Proficiency (something like a Boy Scout Merit Badge) for our Saint John Ambulance cadets in the fall. The stated guidelines for this proficiency indicate approximately 5 hours of training. In the wake of this tragedy, I have decided to incorporate some basic training in making go/no-go decisions for non-pilots. Any advice this forum can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Interesting topic. I can't really shed any expert knowledge here, but this sort of thing would be right up Doug Ritter's alley, if he has the time and inclination to respond.

Just off the top of my head, I would say that any time you fly in a light, private aircraft the risks are astronomically higher than in a commercial airliner, so to be absolutely safe, you would avoid all private aircraft. If that can't be done, personally knowing your pilot and his long reputation as a safe and proficient pilot would help. And barring that, It would be wise to at least check the weather forcast yourself.

You won't be able to analyze the weather the way a trained pilot can, but you can at least have an idea if severe weather is forecast. You can use this information as the basis of your decision or you can discuss the weather forecast with the pilot and use the discussion as the basis of your decision. If the pilot does not seem fully aware of the weather risks and ways of mitigating those risks, that would be a bad sign.

You might also want to observe how diligently the preflight inspection of the aircraft is carried out.

One possibillity if the small-plane pilot is commercially licensed, is to ask if he/she is "carded" by the OAS. That is the USDept of Interior/Dept of Agriculture "Office of Aircraft Services". The BLM and USFS require all of their employees to use only OAS-qualified/carded pilots and aircraft. Certified pilots and aircraft will have an OAS-issued "card" or certificate for themselves and their aircraft, with a check-off for each type of flying for which they are qualified.
These OAS-certificates are issued to pilots and aircraft who meet certain minimum qualifications for non-scheduled flights in the terrain and conditions that you are going to encounter: mountains, winter flights, IFR-qualified for night/inclement weather, etc. OAS has flight-qualified people who inspect the pilots' logs, airplane, equipment, etc. It is a fairly lenghty process, but it does insure that the pilots and aircraft are qualified for the conditions that are anticipated in a particular environment, especially for low-level flights.
I suspect that most of the problems we encounter are the ones you describe, where a friend or acquaintence invites us up for a "short, fun flight". DO NOT fly with anyone who has "just gotten their license". DO NOT fly with anyone who is not instrument flight rated if there is ANY possibility of a storm or nightfall during your flight. That's waht killed JFK Jr and his passengers - he tried to fly at night when he was not qualified. I would also suspect that it is not a good idea to fly with politicians or movie stars or anyone who is personally arrogant, since they will not admit that they are getting into something they cannot handle.
If you go up with someone who makes you at all uneasy with their attitude, require them to land immediately and let you out at the nearest airport. If they refuse, threaten to barf on them - always worked for me. At the least, you can ask the pilot how many hours he/she has in mountain/desert/whatever flying (1000 hours would be a good start), are they instrument qualified, what kind of survival equipment do they carry in the plane, etc. You could also ask to go with them when they file the flight plan, and ask them to request "flight following" from the airport. This is a service where they check in with the airport/control every 15 minutes, giving their heading and location. It is a lot easier to search for a plane with a 15-minute radius of search than a 6-hour radius.
Bottom line for me, after flying as a passenger for 2 years in an Army helicopter unit, and flying as a passenger in small planes and choppers for 28 years with the govt, is that I figure I have used up my allotment of flying fortune. I do not take flights in anything but commercial, scheduled aircraft, and I do not particularly enjoy doing that. When I retire and have enough time to drive, that or trains will be my preferred method of travel. I realize that from a statistical standpoint this is an irrational attitude, and that I am likely to offend every general-aviation pilot on this web site, but hey, it's my life and my decision.
Actually, that is my basis for not particularly liking to fly - the lack of control. At least if I go off a cliff in my own truck, I can blame myself on the way down. Don't know if this will help, but it might provoke a few more replies.

I'd suggest contacting your nearest CAP (Civil Air Patrol) unit & see what they already have available and what they would recommend - might save you a lot of ground work (no pun intended...).

Well, I am going to an introductory flying class today <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

I'll ask the pilots a few of the questions suggested on this thread, and then I'll ask them their oppinion on the subject.

Any questions that people would like me to ask?

Have fun. I have done quite a few courses and am now quite proficient. If you can, towards the end, ask to do some aerobatics. I can now confidently perform the loop the loop, barrel roll, stall turn and some others. Hope you have a great time. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

From the aspect of a passenger, you are at the complete mercy of the pilot. And, as pilots go, there go you. They are like ship's captains in the legal sense. As a pilot in the RCAF, I flew out of Cold Lake , Alberta. Mountain flying takes every skill in IFR, Meteorology and Aeronautics. Our missions along the B.C. coast taxed the crew and passengers due to the constantly changing weather conditions. Aircraft wreckage from W W I I is only recently being spotted, since the terrain is so irregular you have to be right on top of it to spot it. All this lends no comfort to the passenger strapped to a seat. I know reserve cadets have taken Search & Rescue in an "Observer" capacity. M

I'm a bit late to this party, but I had to follow up on some of this (I'm a low-time pilot)

I read at least one post that was incredibly full of factual errors. (I'm not trying to give offense, but I don't want people getting the wrong information.) Here's the thing: if you're not a pilot, you're probably not an expert. There's too much out there you don't know. If you are, you quite possibly aren't an expert in what you're "taking a ride" in (but then you probably don't need this advice). So...

1) How do you recognize an expert?

Pilots tend to be consistent in their flying. If someone is very careful about the way they do, say, their pre-flight check then there's better odds that the'll be careful about everything else. Ask them to show you what they do to preflight. Ask where you're going and how you'll get there. You can tell if the person has planned their flight. Most pilots *LOVE* to talk about flying, so all you have to do is ask a question or two. It's getting them to shut up that's the trick. If someone has a "kick the tires and light the fires" attitude you might want to reconsider.

2) It's more or less risky than you think.

People either have the idea that flying is incredibly safe (most pilots like to think this) or incredibly risky. Actually, according to reliable sources (e.g. the Nall Report), flying light aircraft is about as deadly overall as riding a motorcycle: about 7 times the fatalities as automobiles per passenger mile. Commercial aviation is about the same amount safer than driving. Most flying accidents are directly tracable to something the pilot did or did not do.

I don't want to give offense, but I *really* don't want anyone taking this post for "the truth":

"DO NOT fly with anyone who has 'just gotten their license'".

Nope. Don't fly with the 1000 hour pilot who hasn't flown in years. The pilot who has "just gotten their license" has just passed a reasonably rigorous practical test by the FAA or their agent. Yes, they're newly fleged and they're still learning a great deal, but the highest accident rate is (I think) around the 500 hour mark.

"DO NOT fly with anyone who is not instrument flight rated if there is ANY possibility of a storm or nightfall during your flight."

Visibility is important. Scattered showers can often be seen miles away and avoided visually. A very hazy day (say, 4 miles visibility) is legal for "visual" rules but much more dangerous than the above mentioned storms.

"That's waht killed JFK Jr and his passengers - he tried to fly at night when he was not qualified."

I think the NTSB report said that he effectively flew into instrument conditions. Yes, night didn't help. Neither did the overcast, the 10 mile visibility, or the fact that he was flying over water (they don't tend to put lights on the water).

"If you go up with someone who makes you at all uneasy with their attitude, require them to land immediately"

Excellent advice.

"At the least, you can ask the pilot how many hours he/she has in mountain/desert/whatever flying (1000 hours would be a good start)"

1000 hours in a given specialty is a whole lot of hours. You probably don't need near that many. This will also probably keep you neatly on the ground.\

"ask them to request 'flight following' from the airport. This is a service where they check in with the airport/control every 15 minutes, giving their heading and location"

Nope. The mis-named "flight following" just means that the radar guys will keep an eye on you if they aren't too busy and let you know about other airplanes if they find it convenient. The service the poster mentioned can be had in a few places, notably if you're crossing the Great Lakes or Long Island Sound.


Let me give you a few more tidbits

Most accidents are caused by "unplanned flight into instrument conditions". These are far to often fatal.

Way too many are caused by simply running out of gas. These are often survivable.

Most mid-air collisions ocurr in good weather in the day time. No storms, no darkness, just someone not looking out the window.

Howdy everybody. (Does one reply to the first post or the last?) I'm surprised that Doug Ritter hasn't responded to this post.

Aardwolfe, I'm sorry about the loss of your friend. It's an awful way to lose somebody.

Like dewey, I'm low-time pilot, but I make my living dealing exclusively with the legal aftermath of aircraft accidents. I'm not going to speak directly to the accident that Aardwolfe mentioned because I don't know the facts. But dewey made a lot of good points. The Aeronautical Information Manual specifically warns pilots about the dangers of mountain flying, which is especially hazardous in the summer time. That's because the combination of heated air and high altitudes causes small airplanes to strain to perform at the edge of their normal performance envelopes. That generally means that an airplane can only climb slowly and its service ceiling is diminshed. There are also weather phenomena that are uniquely associated with mountain flying, such as "mountain wave" turbulence, which small airplanes can have trouble avoiding. The final problem is that the topography of mountainous areas provide little in the way of emergency landing areas if you lose an engine.

Most general aviation accidents occur for one of two reasons: weather (including high "density altitude" because of high temperatures on an otherwise severe-clear day); and fuel exhaustion. Both hazards can easily be avoided with adequate preflight planning.

Is general aviation a Boy Scout activity? Sure. I think its A LOT safer than motorcycles (my hat's off to the Nall report, but I've been riding for nearly 30 years). Basic pilot knowledge combines many disciplines: physics of flying; navigation and chart reading; basic math, including problems of time and distance; basic airplane mechanics; weather; physiology; radio communications; legal regulations, etc. I do not believe there is anything in that curriculum that an average, motivated teenager can't learn.

My only hesitation is that it's expensive and I don' t know how to make it cheap. The average student pilot kit of text books and charts is a couple of hundred dollars.

Nevertheless, learning to fly is all about "situational awareness" and learning to take "buck-stops-here" responsibility, because "the pilot in command is the of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft." Federal Aviation Regulation 91.3(a).

Isn't that the Boy Scouts' message?

Uncle Steve

P.S. You might want to contact AOPA, Airplane Owners and Pilots Association. They publish "AOPA Pilot." The folks there might have some ideas for Scouting.