One thing I have learned in talking to pilots and writing their stories since beginning this column is that I really shouldn’t have been all that surprised by the number of hands I saw go up. After all, it seems that most have us have had a Close Call of some sort. And I’m willing to bet that relatively few of them result in CADORS. For the record, I encourage pilots to officially report incidents as this kind of reporting results in the analysis of trends and the implementation of improvements designed to make the skies safer for us all.

But back to the number of raised hands. The overwhelming number of largely unreported occurrences. The untold stories. What do we do about it? Some of you have shared your stories confidentially with me. And I in turn have shared them with our fellow pilots. So that we can understand each other. So that we can learn from one another. So that we can all be safer. But even more important than that is making every effort to prevent these situations from ever taking place to begin with.

Complacency kills. Pilots need to stay sharp and keep their head in the game. Missing a radio call, not fully understanding an ATC instruction, or flying incorrectly in the circuit aren’t things that occur intentionally but they DO occur, they ARE dangerous, and they CAN be avoided. It’s often difficult to anticipate some of the errant things that others do since there are countless ways something can be done wrong. But if we all do our best to operate as per published procedures predicting the actions of others becomes easier since those actions by their very nature become predictable.

If you’re not sure about a local procedure or an ATC instruction or need any kind of assistance… ask for it! You need not be afraid of being judged for being careful. Simply stated there’s no room in aviation for pilots willing trade pride for risk.

Finally, attend refresher seminars like this one. They are a valuable way for groups consisting of pilots, controllers, and regulators to get together and share information. This becomes a learning experience not only for the pilots but for everyone involved.

But between sessions we need to make sure that we remain diligent. Make those radio calls, talk to the nice folks at ATC and use flight following, keep looking out the window, follow procedures, and use any other tools that may be available to you.

Fly safe®.