A Worthy Read?

DutchessFlier

DutchessFlier

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Now that the initial celebration of receiving my ticket has worn off, and the real work of learning and becoming safe, proficient and staying alive has begun, I came across this title and have been researching info on the book: The Killing Zone: How and Why Pilots Die by Craig and would like some feedback from the group.

What do you all know about this book? Is it worth the effort and investment to read it? Am I just going to scare the hell out of myself by reading it? Is it going to add to my becoming a safe pilot? Do I really have to dread the next 350 to 400 hours? (I am at about 80 hours right now)
 
http://tiny.cc/rQ9vF

The google preview probably offers the substance of the book. Of the fatal accidents, pilots with between 100-300 hours were more highly represented and this was correlated with weather. It discusses the FAA strategy of lowering instrument rating time requirements in an effort to address this.

Can't recommend or discourage. Even if the thesis is valuable to mull over I don't like the title. Like diet advice I wouldn't make it the whole sustance of your next reading. Mix it in with some Langweische, Kerschner and Bach.

Congratulations on your pilots license!
 
A Worthy Read?
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I would say yes, but ...

I bought the book a few years ago and read it fairly carefully a couple of times. His thesis is basically that there is a dangerous period of overconfidence indicated by increased accidents for people with total hours in one "killing zone" after the PPL and another "killing zone" for those who pursue instrument and commercial ratings. He shows nice 3D bar charts that appear to support his thesis.

First, though not too important, he is an academic and of course wants to author books to add to his resume. The result is a book-length exposition of the thesis that could have been expounded in much less space.

Second, and this is important, he does not consider the number of active pilots in each hours range. The peaks may simply be because there are more active pilots with hours in each "killing zone" and consequently more accidents. The accident rate in the population may in fact be no different. There is no way to know this from his data. I emailed him to inquire about this flaw but did not receive a response.

It's a good read. It will get you thinking. But I think the thesis is not proven by the data presented.
 
I have wondered the same thing, that if there was a "normalization" missing in data like this. Hard to get strong data for "successful" flights but you might cull it from medical/certificate applications.
 
Yes. I'm not saying his thesis is wrong. There is a certain logic that makes it attractive. But IMHO the data presented does not prove it.
 
airdale said:
I would say yes, but ...

I bought the book a few years ago and read it fairly carefully a couple of times. His thesis is basically that there is a dangerous period of overconfidence indicated by increased accidents for people with total hours in one "killing zone" after the PPL and another "killing zone" for those who pursue instrument and commercial ratings. He shows nice 3D bar charts that appear to support his thesis.

First, though not too important, he is an academic and of course wants to author books to add to his resume. The result is a book-length exposition of the thesis that could have been expounded in much less space.

Second, and this is important, he does not consider the number of active pilots in each hours range. The peaks may simply be because there are more active pilots with hours in each "killing zone" and consequently more accidents. The accident rate in the population may in fact be no different. There is no way to know this from his data. I emailed him to inquire about this flaw but did not receive a response.

It's a good read. It will get you thinking. But I think the thesis is not proven by the data presented.
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I've read the book and agree completely with your assessment. The author plays way to loose with statistics and most of the stories themselves were obviously hand selected to support his theory but if you just ignore his editorializing the accident scenarios are interesting by themselves.
 
No need to actually purchase the book, we have a copy in the PoA Book Club Library. Last I heard Dan McCormack (dmccormack) had it, and I haven't seen an update in over a year. PM Dan and ask him to send it to you!
 
the real work of learning and becoming safe, proficient and staying alive has begun
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Oh, and if you're looking for pleasant and worthwhile reading, I'd suggest anything by Bob Buck. "Weather Flying," "The Art of Flying," "Flying Know-How," and "North Star Over My Shoulder" are the ones I have. There may be more. This is a guy with incredible experience, including 2000 Atlantic crossings, and a pretty good writer to boot. Some of the material is a bit dated but it's all very worthwhile.

Check eBay and used book dealers. For "Weather Flying" be sure you get the latest (Fourth) edition.
 
gprellwitz said:
No need to actually purchase the book, we have a copy in the PoA Book Club Library. Last I heard Dan McCormack (dmccormack) had it, and I haven't seen an update in over a year. PM Dan and ask him to send it to you!
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Grant -- I may have this title, though not from the POA Library. I'll check...

If not, I'll recommend heartily Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck.

Available in paperback, it's a great read.
 
dmccormack said:
Grant -- I may have this title, though not from the POA Library. I'll check...

If not, I'll recommend heartily Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck.

Available in paperback, it's a great read.
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Back in May of last year you posted [post=299255]this[/post], and Lance requested your address via PM. That's the last I heard of the book. I presumed (yeah, I know) that you'd hooked up, or I would have expected to hear about it again.
 
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Well, thanks everyone...If anyone wants to pass along one of those titles to me, PM me and I will respond with my address and then will forward on to the next person who requests them.
 
If you are just looking for a worthwhile read, I'd recommend the "Mountain Flying Bible" by Sparky Imeson. This will give you a healthy respect for altitude and weather, and teach you some tricks you never knew your plane could do. A real eye opener.

Now, before you actually try flying in the mountains _please_ get some mountain instruction with a good instructor -- experiencing high density altitude and mountain-induced turbulence is way different than reading about it. When I did my mountain checkout (in a Citabria!) it was a load of fun.

Chris
 
gprellwitz said:
Back in May of last year you posted [post=299255]this[/post], and Lance requested your address via PM. That's the last I heard of the book. I presumed (yeah, I know) that you'd hooked up, or I would have expected to hear about it again.
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I did send it didn't I?

Edit: I checked my PMs and it doesn't look like I ever got Dan's address so maybe I've still got the book. I'll look around.
 
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