Private pilots you trust, who seem proficient and careful - they may deny what others say are obvious defects in small planes they fly.  They take for granted trust of their passengers and demonstrate aviation prowess, command over nature they assume passengers agree is worth it.

Ask such a pilot whether or not the plane you're about to ride in is safe, he'll sprout porcupine quills.  You couldn't hurl an insult more personal than to question the airworthiness of his plane.

Cirrus owner, Regis de Ramel, former Cirrus Regional Sales Manager Mid-Atlantic region commented on my blog post that offended him.
     "You are so completely incorrect. Your "expert" opinions are totally without fact or merit. It is unfortunate that you pretend to be so well informed but yet have very little knowledge in flight test or design; or apparently as a pilot it seems.
     In full disclosure, I am bias to the Cirrus, with well over 3,000 hours flying the Cirrus in all types of conditions (including ice) and as a former factory demonstration pilot. Prospective owners have put the Cirrus in many unusual and unrecommended attitudes in an effort to "test" the Cirrus (not to mention the FAA through certification). I have never once seen the Cirrus "loose control." The wing cuffs or spring loaded flight controls do not dampen the flight characteristics of the plane - they have in fact made it safer and more enjoyable to fly!
     As for icing, I suggest you speak to any flight test engineer who has take any plane through Part 23 FIKI certification. You will find your conclusions to be totally off base and incorrect. Or better yet, let's go for a flight!"

Pilots who demonstrate superior piloting skill and understanding are quick to damn lesser pilots who crash.  You've heard it.  "The pilot was inexperienced, inept, he made poor judgments, it was pilot error", they proclaim.  "Flying is safer than driving."

The FAA says that on average, 1.1 people are killed in general aviation aircraft per 100,000 hours flown.  That compared to 1.5 people killed in 100 million miles of driving shows driving is 12 times safer than flying a small plane which is slightly safer than riding on a motorcycle.  (100 million miles driving at 60 miles per hour is 1.6 million hours.)

The preceding words will aggravate the pilot hell-bent on convincing his wife or girlfriend to fly with him.  What he claims is, "Bad pilots crash planes.  There's no reason a plane would crash on its own."

Yet, there are times when the refrain, "pilot error" isn't so easy.  That’s when the accident pilot was known and respected by his accuser.  This scenario requires the know-it-all pilot to imagine improbable coincidence to blame.  “The pilot must've had a heart attack when the door popped open.”  “Maybe a fire broke out in the cockpit as he approached to land.”  Seriously, these arguments were noted from a manufacturer's aviation forum about a recent accident, below.

Though sometimes elusive to an accident investigator, there is always specific cause and effect not to be dismissed simply as pilot error.  An experienced accident investigator does not believe in coincidence, except that coincidence is very rare indeed. To forgo "pilot error", it requires a critique of the tenets of aviation, an investigation of aircraft design.  Blame pilot or God, but casting a jaundiced eye toward thou holy Cirrus constitutes a violation of the code of the Fraternal Order of Pilots.

Cirrus-made planes have a well-known problem of doors not staying closed in flight.  Besides obvious concern, the Cirrus door makes up the armrest of the Cirrus's highly sensitive side-stick control.  Yet, there is no owner outcry demanding a factory recall that you’d expect in cases of automobile defect or laptop battery overheat.  Instead the aviation community says a door popping open, “is no big deal.”  “Pay no attention to it and land.”  Pilots are supposed to man-up and fly the plane.

Here's video of a recent Cirrus accident that occurred after the pilot reported his door popped open shortly after takeoff on a routine flight:



It's strange, the defense among pilots over the dismal safety record of the Cirrus airplane, the plane that has a safety parachute designed to save its occupants (which in fact is has, dozens of times).  No one, besides Cessna salespeople and so-called ambulance-chasing attorneys question the Cirrus design: why the parachute was necessary so often, why so many Cirrus pilots and passengers were seriously injured and killed.

This pilot, Alexander Wolf (a.k.a. Wolfala on YouTube), a flight instructor and Cirrus owner made an inflight YouTube video to prove he can do all kinds of maneuvers with a Cirrus door open.  Why?  To prove why pilots are sissies to complain about open doors.  To prove a plane flies just fine this way.  To make a cool public video to show off his aviation prowess.

Wolf's video is not the only case where Cirrus pilots go out of their way to prove the Cirrus airplane safe with a defective door.  Cirrus fanatics take video, photographs and write in forums to prove unequivocally to themselves a cabin door opening in flight is a non-event.  Whatever the pilot did that crashed, he exercised poor judgment.

The fallacy of Wolf's experiment is that he took the video at 4,500 feet high over the ocean where air is homogenous and smooth.  At such altitude, aircraft flight and stall characteristics are not worsened by wind sheer and turbulence that occur at low altitude closer to hills, trees, buildings, and thermal activity.  Contradictory to Wolf's video portayal that a Cirrus door opening is no big deal are NTSB reports of DOZENS of experienced pilots that lost control of Cirrus planes.

Reports of those who knew the pilot who crashed in the above video confirm he was competent, skillful, an experienced pilot of 38 years.  His obituary reveals a person without need to prove himself.

Obituary of James Rush Freeman III
The Courier, Savannah, TN, August 12, 2010, Page 9A

Prominent residential and multi-family home-builder, civic leader and philanthropist died in Phoenix, Arizona on August 4, 2010. Born in Savannah, Tennessee on April 2,1943, Jim graduated from Columbia Military Academy, Georgia Tech, and Harvard Business School, and served in Viet Nam as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army from 1968-70. Following his Army commitment, Jim worked as a developer in Los Angeles and Portland before being recruited to Phoenix by Lincoln Property Company. Over the next thirty years, he became Regional Partner of Lincoln Property Company, CEO of Gemini Development, and President of Keepsake Homes. In addition to his significant professional career achievements, Jim reached out to respond to community needs by serving on many community boards including Junior Achievement, Brophy College Preparatory, Foster Care Review, Arizona Multi-Housing Association, the Phoenix Symphony, Delta Dental Foundation, and the Harvard Business School Alumni Board. He chaired Junior Achievement, the Arizona Multi-Housing Association, and the City of Phoenix Block Grant Program. In addition, Jim was active in Habitat for Humanity and on many government and nonprofit task forces and oversaw capital construction projects at the Arizona Science Center, Junior Achievement, and Brophy College Preparatory. Although Jim was an avid hiker, tennis player, and golfer, it was flying that captured his heart. He earned his single engine, IFR, and multi-engine ratings and was a seasoned and experienced pilot of 38 years. Jim’s favorite trips were cross-country flights from Phoenix to his NC summer home and his Hardin County roots as well as to Oshkosh’s Annual Airshow. A passionate traveler, he loved seeing the world at ground level as well as looking down through the clouds.

Fortunately, Mr. Freeman was alone as he tried to save himself during the crash.  As aircraft accidents are tragic, they're even more so when passengers do not share a pilot's view of risk.  If ever you sense a pilot denying risk that makes you uncomfortable and you feel unable to say no, have a motorcycle helmet handy to wear.  It's unlikely this kind of person would ever ask you to fly again.