Letters from the skies

Pilots share their stories of vertigo, and tell us what we can learn from JFK Jr.'s tragic judgment.

Jul 23, 1999 | I don't fly for a living, but I am a commercially licensed pilot with instrument and multi-engine ratings and over 2500 hours and 35 years experience, having soloed at age 17. I fly extensively for business and pleasure. I flew many hours over every kind of terrain, day and night, before I earned the more advanced ratings.

I don't believe John Kennedy Jr. acted out of pure recklessness, so much as a combination of understandable factors: high enthusiasm for what private flying allows you to do -- jump over to Martha's Vineyard in an hour on your own schedule, drop off a friend, and then pop on over to Hyannisport, a 15-minute hop; overconfidence brought on by the fact that he'd made this trip many times with no problem (although, apparently, usually with an instructor); the pressure to keep to a schedule that included a wedding.

He did some very imprudent things. First, and most glaring, setting out over water at night without either filing a flight plan or, better, requesting Flight Following after he got in the air. This service, available to any pilot whether or not he's instrument rated, would have put him in constant contact with Air Traffic Control for the entire trip.

[Air Traffic Control] would have called out any aircraft that posed a danger to his flight. And when the plane disappeared, they would have immediately sent searchers -- something that could save your life if you survived a water landing. I would never, never, never fly over water -- particularly at night with passengers -- without "hand holding" by ATC. As a new, non-instrument rated pilot, Kennedy might have only vaguely known about Flight Following. Or he may have been intimidated. But it is likely Kennedy did not fully appreciate how flying over water on a moonless night can leave you with no horizon or useful visual reference and almost totally dependent on your flight instruments and the skill to use them. The haze and fog multiplied that danger. (Recently on a trip from Sedona, Ariz. to Santa Monica, Calif., I had to fly almost entirely on instruments for half the trip with ceiling unlimited and visibility over 50 miles. The desert, like the water, is very black at night, and looking out at a black hole will quickly induce vertigo.)

In addition to the obvious tragedy of all this, I have a parochial reason to be dismayed: John Kennedy Jr.'s high profile and great love for flight would likely have been a very positive force for aviation, particularly personal flying. His death this way will now bring some unfair infamy to what for most pilots is both a passion and a highly practical skill. But it is a skill that must be acquired carefully over time and constantly refreshed.

--Robert Chandler
Beverly Hills, Calif.

The Hise article on flying in marginal weather was excellent ["A pilot's story"]. Finally you got a writer with some aviation experience rather than another fool journalist who has no idea and no understanding about aviation. The reporting on the Kennedy accident and aviation matters in general has been generally atrocious. This article is a rare exception.

--George H. Pfeiffer
Certified Flight Instructor, Instrument

I was very disappointed in Phaedra Hise's story on her experience as a pilot flying along the New England coast ["A pilot's story"]. I have interacted with many pilots, instructors, and student pilots since obtaining my VFR license several years ago, and have flown many hours as co-pilot in a Beechcraft Bonanza owned by my fiance who is an experienced IFR-rated pilot. I have never heard a real pilot describe challenging flying conditions the way Ms. Hise has done. She should know better. While flying can be challenging, injecting such degree of sensationalism as to make it sound like being on a scary, potentially fatal ride at an amusement park only serves to reinforce the public's notions about general aviation and flying -- that it is uniformly dangerous.

General aviation's safety record surpasses that of commercial flying when one carefully examines the facts. While there were 361 fatalities in 1998 and domestic commercial carriers had none, one must note the much higher number of operations, including takeoffs and landings, compared to commercial flying, and the fact that the accident rate in 1998 was the best on record. Outstanding aviation organizations and services such as Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association and web sites such as AvWeb are working to educate and disseminate accurate information and promote safety in flying. That the news media continues to propagate myths about aviation to an already misinformed public only makes their job that much harder.

--Kathryn M. Zunich, M.D.

As an old pilot circa Korean War helicopters, we used to say there are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots.

--John C. Carrig

Next Page: Why didn't Kennedy call for Flight Following?

• View blog reactions