Aspen Accident

This tragic accident depicts the danger of having that get home itis and succumbing to the pressures of an outside influence who has no flight experience. The ultimate responsibility lies with the pilot and copilot. It is clear that final decision rests with them. Neither of them had any recent experience with flying into Aspen at night. In addition, there were outside influences that restricted their CRM. In deteriorating weather, there should not have been a passenger in the jump seat. Furthermore, the numerous missed approaches that occurred right before their approach should have heightened their awareness and made them break off the approach at the first sight of something wrong. In a small way, I know what these pilots felt. I've made the mistake of letting outside influences adversely affect my flying. It almost caused a disaster. So when in doubt,  break it off, find some clean air away from terrain, and live to see another day.

Single Pilot IFR

Without having flown in IFR conditions in quite sometime, I would refuse to fly in IMC conditions right now. I firmly believe that even most of our students (including myself) could not function in IMC conditions immediately following our instrument checkride. Flying in the real deal is much different than under the hood. This article highlighted the danger that single pilot IFR presents. Managing the workload is probably the biggest piece of advice this article gives. Under IFR conditions, there are many things to do very quickly. Without a copilot, managing these tasks is essential. Ultimately, I would not fly IFR without an experienced copilot at this time.

In Flight Electrical Fires

The problem with most of the emergencies that we could possibly encounter on a real live flight is that we, as student pilots, cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the emergency until we encounter it and are forced to make those split second decisions. However, that is why we are constantly drilled on emergency procedures for things like gear malfunctions or power loss. We know to immediately pitch for 79, look for a suitable field, ect... for an engine loss. Electrical fires, on the other hand, are rarely ever discussed. This article brings to light the dangers of electrical fires and the consequences of not dealing with them correctly. I like the fact that it states that "your attention should be focused on getting the airplane on the ground as soon as practical." Personally, I have never felt the urgency or stress of a catastrophic emergency before, but through articles like this, I can take little nuggets and store them away in case I ever find myself in this situation.