Two highly experienced instructors I personally knew got killed during instruction flights in the past months and the initial shock has been replaced by an uneasy feeling. Most instructors I had the chance to fly with were at least 25 years older than me and very experienced. This certainly helped me to trust them almost blindly – which I think is necessary at some steps in the process of learning to fly. So when such a person dies in an aviation accident many questions arise…

No other post remained in my drafts list longer than this one – a strong sign that the topic is sensitive. Instructors are an important cornerstone of aviation. To obtain a private license an average student pilot flies for 50 hours with (or under supervision of) an instructor and 2.5 hours with an examiner. Letting a student pilot fly alone on board is the instructor responsibility !

Are these incidents result of bad luck ? Of the macho attitude ? Technical or health problem ? None of the reports have been published yet, but even if the investigation establish human error as the main cause my respect for these two instructors will remain untouched.

When studying Human Factors we learn many things about what can lead pilots to do silly things, hoping we will avoid it. It certainly helps but no one will ever be fully protected from a making wrong decision – not even instructors. Most of time these errors do not have consequences because aviation’s safety system works fine – remember, safety is absence of unacceptable risk, not absence of risk.

All accidents carry some lessons and these two will be no exception. The investigations will establish the facts but I want to stress out again that it will not be a judgement.

One can not judge the career of someone on the base of a single event. We all make mistakes which have various consequences depending on the context and circumstances. If mistakes have been made in these incidents (not established yet !), they won’t waste all the achievements that came before.

What I will remember when thinking of these two instructors is their fantastic career, made of dedication, patience and pedagogy. I will not forget all the efforts they made to help pilots like me to be better pilots !