responsibility

Flying fatigued, from 1890

By Dave English

On 12 July 1890, in Eastleigh, England, the London & South Western Railway had a collision that resulted in one fatality. A light engine ran some stop signals at North Junction and then crashed into the rear of a freight train. The accident report cited the cause as the engine driver and stoker failing to “keep a proper look-out”. Pilot error you might say. However, it was speculated in the report that both men were “asleep, or nearly so”, having been on duty for over sixteen hours. So while the driver was the immediate cause of the crash, the deeper, … Continue reading Flying fatigued, from 1890

Life itself

By Dave English

“Accuracy means something to me. It’s vital to my sense of values. I’ve learned not to trust people who are inaccurate. Every aviator knows that if mechanics are inaccurate, aircraft crash. If pilots are inaccurate, they get lost — sometimes killed. In my profession life itself depends on accuracy.” Charles A. Lindbergh, in his 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography The Spirit of St. Louis.