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.

The moral to this story should scream out to the reader, but I will make it clear. It pays to know your aircraft’s limitations.