Mar
25
2009
The pilot speaks
More details have emerged about the F/A-18 crash in my neighborhood.
I don’t think many (especially me) are qualified to know what military pilots should or should not do when, in an emergency, their superiors are giving orders that conflict with their training and gut feelings. Having said that, and having actually gone through ground school, I know that civilian pilots have the concept that the pilot is the ultimate authority in an emergency situation repeatedly drilled into them. I suspect the same is true for the military. But this guy was green* and he was in an aircraft of questionable airworthiness. I give him a pass.
* The green issue might be overrated. By the time you are soloing in an F-18 from a carrier, you have a boatload of flight hours and an assumed confidence in your abilities. He probably knew the drill for an emergency, but unlike Sulley he hadn’t studied and internalized emergency situations, so was ultimately not as confident in his own judgment.
PS – For a few years I have used the spell check function to improve my spelling rather than as a crutch. I correct the red squiggles manually instead of right-clicking. I just learned that “judgment” doesn’t have two e’s.