or How to Reduce Mistakes and FLY SAFELY Part 1 of a 3-part series
Arthur Gatland
This series on Threat and Error Management were originally printed in Soaring NZ some years ago and is reproduced here with their kind permission. There is a whole new group of pilots who will benefit from a reprint as the advice given is a relevant as it has ever been.
Arthur Gatland started flying in 1963 at age 13 and has accumulated 17,000+ flying hours including 2,500 hours in RAF fighters such as Harriers, Hunters, Hawks. Arthur has now retired after flying Boeing 777 for Air New Zealand as both Captain and instructor, and ten years as Manager of Training and Flight Standards. He is an A Cat glider instructor, with a Gold C and 3 Diamonds, and was a previous CFI of the Auckland Gliding Club.
Our gliding accident rate in recent years has not been good. The fact is that on average we have one fatality a year, with all the tragedy that this brings to families and friends, not to mention the huge cost in damaged and destroyed gliders and associated increase in insurance costs etc. Yet gliding is inherently a relatively safe sport, and historically has been second only to airline flying as one of the safest types of aviation. To my knowledge, none of our spate of accidents has been the result of structural or mechanical defects – all have resulted from pilots unnecessarily putting themselves in a situation that for various reasons have resulted in a crash. Ridges, rocks and trees do not suddenly leap out and hit gliders – yet we manage to collide with them on a regular basis. And despite the fact that gliders are safer, have better handling and performance, better airbrakes, more comfort, and better visibility than those of 30-odd years ago, our accident rate is worse.
