Risk Management Magazine

Looking back, this incident is still vivid in my mind. Some have told me it’s just the cost of doing business. This "business" cost us a Class C mishap. Although no one was hurt and the aircraft was up and flying in just a few days, I couldn’t help but ask myself, "What was I thinking?"

As Army aviators, we’re sometimes required to fly in unfamiliar areas with in-depth restrictions and guidelines. We must learn to slow down — not just rush in and get the job done. I believe the extra training flights we took as a crew to further familiarize ourselves with the area helped us tremendously. I’ve talked with other pilots who said they were not given that opportunity.

Every hunting season brings new stories about successful outings, big trophies and near misses. Unfortunately, it also brings tales of serious mishaps — most of which could have been avoided with a little common sense and proper safety equipment.