Fly the Aircraft First
One of the basic rules taught to the very youngest pilots is this: In an emergency, the pilot’s first responsibility is to fly the aircraft. Now that may seem a very simple idea – and I guess it is. However, it’s also essential to understand that too many aviation accidents have been caused when the flight crew was so busy concentrating on important but secondary duties that they forgot to first fly the aircraft.
Once, years ago, I was returning from patrolling the border between East and West Germany (back when there was one) and flew into a low cloud deck at night. In aviation we call this inadvertent IMC. In layman terms, it means I no longer had visual references outside the aircraft).
For many years this was a common killer of non-instrument rated pilots. Instead of concentrating on flying the aircraft and transitioning to instrument flight, too many pilots would crash while looking for an instrument chart, trying to tune or talk on the radios, or dividing their attention between the instruments and the outside hoping for a visual escape out of the clouds. Those duties are reserved for after you have the aircraft firmly under control.
I played it right and survived.
So what does that have to do with today’s politics? It seems to me that the situation on the southern border is just like the pilot who forgets he must first fly the aircraft.
Today, we have a President and Vice President who claim to be concentrating on the root causes of this crisis in illegal immigration. However, they’re forgetting to fly the aircraft first. While they spend time, money, and resources talking about root problems that will take years to fairly address, they forget that the immediate concern is a border in chaos. Stop the bleeding there and we can then better address the long term issues.
That seems like common sense to me. But I am not a politician. I have found when it comes to politicians; common sense is not common.
One final thought – this also applies to the current crime crisis in our cities.
Agree or disagree, please leave a comment.
Hugh Bouchelle, editor, Valley New Media Project
