Poll: Do You See Value In Aviation Accident Reports And Videos?

I subscribe to most major aviation magazines–and I KEEP the copies–(as my wife will attest)–we even build an “aviation library” when we rebuilt our house–thousands of magazines since May 1963. This is my 53rd year in the FBO business.

I could never understand the fascination of those just getting into flying for accident reports– all too often, these pilots pilot pore over the magazines, and then offer an opinion. Most experienced pilots only note them in passing.

Unless the accident involves a unique type of airplane–or a particular egregious rendering of good sense, I usually give it a pass. There is little to be actually LEARNED from these–rather than instruction, it is more akin to voyeurism–down south, they have a phrase for something or someone involved in something particularly bad–“More fun than a train wreck”–a pretty apt desciption of the actual term. There is a medical term for it–“Schadenfreude–“”Pleasure in the misfortune of others.”

I rely on AvWeb (and others) for an aviation-savvy report so that I can clear up impressions given by less-than-insightful general press reports, both for me and people I know.

I feel that the coverage of an accident report, where the journalist can translate the legalese and summarize is a great help to those who read it for gaining knowledge.