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Notes:


We call crashes accidents because we never plan to have one. Deliberate crashes are called suicide or terrorism and are the topic of a completely different conversation.

My research indicates that good pilots; well-trained, careful, prudent pilots do have crashes. Yes, incompetent pilots sometimes crash, but excellent, well-trained, experienced pilots crash also. It's unfair to the pilot to assume that something stupid was done just because a crash occurred; and it's dangerous to feel that we aren't likely to crash because we're careful, we've never had one, or we're just a better pilot than the other person.

My research also indicates that there are several pilot physiological factors that can sneak up and bite a pilot without much warning, or with warnings that are likely to be misinterpreted.

Most crashes -- about 90% -- are due to pilot factors, meaning that something went wrong with the pilot, not the airplane.

Most physical impairments bring along some clue -- though often subtle -- that something's awry.

This particular presentation reviews in a simple way the impairments of age and discusses what clues might exist that will let you know that something's going awry, that it might be a good idea not to fly, that there's something you need to adjust to or to correct.