| You've trained long hours, you've studied hard, and | | | | right - flying headstrong into the skies over a blizzard |
| you've finally passed the test. Congrats pilot! You can | | | | in Buffalo is probably not the best idea for you, my |
| now fly your own plane. You want to celebrate by | | | | friend! Storms of all types have the capability of |
| flying all day every day as often as you can because, | | | | preventing pilots from maneuvering the plane the |
| well, your certificate lets you do that. You feel the | | | | way they were trained to. Essentially, poor weather |
| same sense of freedom and adventure as you felt | | | | conditions can lead to such inability to fly a plane that |
| back in 1992 when, against your mother's wishes, | | | | would cause a passenger to believe the plane they |
| you bought a motorcycle and obtained your license | | | | were in was being piloted by a first-timer. |
| to drive it anywhere you wanted to. Ahhh once again | | | | Experienced pilots and crew can oftentimes find |
| you can feel the wind in your hair, the world at your | | | | themselves in a tricky situation when entering |
| fingertips, and ironically, the same statistical probability | | | | treacherous weather in order to reach a destination. |
| of death or loss of limb as when you were driving | | | | It is a hard decision to make but pilots of small planes |
| that old motorcycle of yours back in the 90's! Oops. | | | | should always err of the safer side. |
| Sorry for the scare. The truth is that aviation safety | | | | Nevertheless, there will always be pilots young or old |
| is easy when you follow the guidelines and stay | | | | who overestimate their capabilities while in the sky. |
| smart. The way for a pilot to insure the safety of | | | | Risky flight habits are not common amongst the |
| him or herself and those on board is to follow the | | | | flying industry, and hopefully it stays that way. When |
| normal safety precautions and to use common sense | | | | making decisions as a pilot of a small plane, one must |
| before flying a plane. | | | | keep in mind the fact that they are not only dealing |
| 4 important tips: | | | | with the risk of their own life, but also that they are |
| *Don't run out of fuel | | | | passing a judgment that will have an effect on the |
| *Avoid bad weather conditions at all costs | | | | lives and futures of the crew, passengers, or cargo |
| *Don't make bad decisions / don't be risky | | | | on board. In addition, planes are not cheap toys; the |
| *Pay attention to proper plane maintenance | | | | rental fees alone will run you thousands of dollars per |
| techniques to avoid mechanical error | | | | year, and repair costs are hefty. You don't want to |
| Running out of fuel is never a good thing, but it is | | | | run the risk of damaging the plane that you're in. |
| easily preventable. In early 2006, a small plane had to | | | | Proper airplane maintenance is probably the most |
| be guided on an emergency landing on a major | | | | important way to insure your safety in the air. It's |
| freeway in California. Luckily, the landing went | | | | not always a one-man job; in fact, there is an entire |
| extraordinarily perfect and the pilot and passenger | | | | school built solely around the teaching of aviation |
| were both unharmed. Clearly this is very rare but the | | | | maintenance and repair. The bottom line is knowing |
| situation would've been avoidable if the pilot had | | | | who is taking care of the plane that you are flying, |
| taken the obvious precaution of coordinating the | | | | and making sure that all standards have been met |
| amount of fuel in his plane with the amount of fuel | | | | before taking off. |
| needed for the trip he was taking. Things like these | | | | Control of your plane is literally at your fingertips, but |
| seem so trivial when compared to other | | | | this control can easily be taken away in an instant if |
| responsibilities of a pilot, but sometimes it's the small | | | | the regulations have not been met, precautions have |
| things that are easy to miss. | | | | not been taken, or if the risk has not been properly |
| Bad weather conditions are less foreseeable than | | | | evaluated before the flight. So, congrats pilot! Be |
| knowing that you're about to run out of fuel. That's | | | | smart, be careful, and fly safely. |