> Yes, some of that is pilot error which can be mitigated to a substantial extent by computer controls, but it’s also a result of the lack of redundancy and hard failure modes of a light aircraft compared to a car.
Most of it is, and has always been pilot error. If we only had to worry about mechanical problems the safety record would actually look quite good.
It’s harder than driving a car due to much longer decision horizons (what you do now can doom you minutes to hours from now), much more of a dynamic environment with non-obvious hazards, and just plain higher baseline skillset and awareness requirements. All of these can and should be mitigated with technology to some extent, but there will always be that one guy who will choose to dodge thunderstorms at night.
Most of it is, and has always been pilot error. If we only had to worry about mechanical problems the safety record would actually look quite good.
It’s harder than driving a car due to much longer decision horizons (what you do now can doom you minutes to hours from now), much more of a dynamic environment with non-obvious hazards, and just plain higher baseline skillset and awareness requirements. All of these can and should be mitigated with technology to some extent, but there will always be that one guy who will choose to dodge thunderstorms at night.