Risk Management Magazine

As a young, thrill-seeking, soon-to-be Army aviator getting ready to start flight school, I did the stereotypical thing and bought a motorcycle. I’d ridden dirt bikes only a handful of times growing up and thought a street bike wouldn’t be much different. Eager to get on the road and start riding with friends that already had motorcycles, I signed up for the required Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic RiderCourse (BRC).

During a recent trip to Acadia National Park in Maine, I learned a few valuable lessons: I am not as smart as I thought I was, and following established rules and policies protects me from harm. These lessons, although embarrassing, later saved me from greater harm in a different national park and may have prevented a tragic accident in my unit a few weeks later.

“This is it,” the other pilot said, putting his hands into the air as I took the flight controls and entered an autorotation to the best landing spot — a 2,000-foot rock cliff! I knew if we continued this autorotation, we were going to crash.