REFLECTOR: Accident Report(s) Phobia

[Dave Black]

Brian,

> I am always concerned when one of our friends may have had an oops,
> incident, accident or fatality.  I want to hear about all of them and learn
> from them, but I would rather hear about most of them from a person rather
> than regurgitated by a government service generated by some unfeeling
> machinery.

I don't like sensationalism either. But I'm not going to complain about who or
how they told me the news. As a Velocity owner and pilot, I want to hear of
any incidents as soon as and by whatever means possible, so that I may be
warned of the potential for problems. 

Beyond the mere warning, it creates a 'hook' in my mind to hang further
information on. Yes, the FAA's preliminary accident report is not very
informative, but now I'll be listening very closely for any more information
about what happened. I don't want to wait for the NTSB's final determination
to learn all I can about what happened. 

I never looked at such postings as sensationalism, or glorification of
someone's "bad day." Rather I try to garner the useful information in order to
make my own flying safer. And if some day I personally have my own Bad Day, I
want all possible information about it disseminated to Velocity builders as
soon as it is available. Such info may be too late to help the pilot involved,
but surely can be valuable for the rest of us. 

For those who do not like reading the early reports, please use the DELETE
button, but please don't villainize the posting of such information for the
rest of us. 

Dave Black
Shortwing RG