The Killing Zone: How & Why Pilots Die [Hardcover]

Paul Craig (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 007136269X | ISBN-13: 978-0071362696 | Publication Date: December 12, 2000 | Edition: 1

This literal survival guide for new pilots identifies "the killing zone," the 40-250 flight hours during which unseasoned aviators are likely to commit lethal mistakes. Presents the statistics of how many pilots will die in the zone within a year; calls attention to the eight top pilot killers (such as "VFR into IFR," "Takeoff and Climb"); and maps strategies for avoiding, diverting, correcting, and managing the dangers. Includes a Pilot Personality Self-Assessment Exercise that identifies pilot "types" and how each type can best react to survive the killing zone.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You can fly through the zone. Or you can die in it. Most pilots earn their private certificate with 40 to 70 flight hours. Then they leave their instructors behind and enter the killing zone. Grimly embracing the period from 50 to 350 flight hours--a vital time for new pilots to build practical and decision-making skills--this deadly zone lays in wait for those who err, killing more pilots than all other periods put together. You don't have to be one of them. Aviation safety specialist Paul Craig--discoverer of the killing zone--shows you the fatal errors that inexperienced pilots make time after time and gives you tactics to avoid them. Based on the first in-depth, scientific study of pilot behavior and general aviation flying accidents in more than 20 years, The Killing Zone:

*Identifies the time frame in which you are most likely to die

*Alerts you to the 12 mistakes most likely to kill you

*Outlines preventive strategies for flying through the zone alive

*Provides guidelines for avoiding, evading, diverting, correcting, and managing dangers

*Includes a "Pilot Personality Self-Assessment Exercise" for an individualized survival strategy

Survive the dangers that lurk in the killing zone.

About the Author

Paul A. Craig, Ed.D., longtime pilot, FAA award-winning flight instructor, and aviation educator and author, designed and conducted the research described in this book based on his lifelong concern with the high accident rate among general aviation pilots, and in the process of earning his doctorate in education, with special empahsis on pilot decision-making and flight training. A Gold Seal Multiengine Flight Instructor and twice FAA District Flight Instructor of the Year, he has spoken widely to flight instructors and others on improving flight training and safety. He is the author of Be a Better Pilot; Stalls & Spins; Multiengine Flying, 2nd Edition; and Light Airplane Navigation Essentials, all from McGraw-Hill's renowned Practical Flying Series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (December 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007136269X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071362696
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good survey of flight safety., February 25, 2001

By 

Michael Kneip (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Zone: How & Why Pilots Die (Hardcover)

Author Paul Craig's thesis -- that low time pilots face special risks
due to their lack of experience -- is generally unremarkable. After
all, the aviation community has long regarded experience as the single
most important factor in flight safety.

While the author's basic
premise is well known, his thorough examination of the `killing
zone' -- his term for the statistically risky period between 50 and
350 total flight hours - is well handled. With thorough analysis
of NTSB data combined with his own research the author presents a
survey of aviation's "best practices". Pilots will find this
material familiar, but will appreciate the author's detailed, in-depth
approach.

Where `The Killing Zone' stumbles is in its practical
advice for new pilots. The author's suggestions are too general, and
differ little from those found elsewhere. Controversial remedies such
as requiring the flight schools to be more forthright about flying
risks, or implementing mandatory ongoing training for low time pilots,
are avoided altogether. Stronger editing - describing an accident
as having occurred in a "Money M20C" (sic) seems a little sloppy
- would also have helped.

"The Killing Zone" is a worthy
read for all pilots, and new pilots in particular will benefit from
this ambitious, if slightly flawed, examination of flight safety.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suprisingly Good Book, January 6, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Killing Zone: How & Why Pilots Die (Hardcover)

As a pilot who had already made it through the "Killing Zone" and past the 350 hour hour mark, I was doubtful that this book would have much new insight for me.

I was very pleasantly surprised, however, for two reasons. First, Paul Craig did an excellent job describing how each of many procedures should be performed properly AND what the common pitfalls were. So many books tell you how to do it right and then do not mention what the common traps and errors are.

Second, while many of the several hundred suggestions and stories in the book were not new to me, quite a few were, and I learned more than I expected.

For example, the case of a pilot who took off in the morning on a cold day having drained the sumps diligently. 45 minutes into the flight the ice in the tanks (due to improperly replaced fuel caps) melted and caused the engine to stop. The moral here is that if you find loose fuel caps and the temperature is below freezing, it is not enough to simply drain the sumps. You need to put the plane in a hanger (or let the sun warm it up) until you are confident that there is no ice inside.

Another example is LAHSO operations and how they work and that the controllers will tell you how much distance you have if you ask. After reading that I memorized my home field dimensions and am prepared to visualize whether 3000 feet is enough for me to safely LAHS.

Perhaps the best concept he explored was complacency and our natural tendencies as pilots to extrapolate. We miss an item on the checklist once and nothing goes wrong so we think we do not need it. I was sad to read how many people learned this lesson the hard way when they missed a simple yet crucial checklist item that could have prevented a terrible crash.

As long as there are any planes crashing due to human error, this book is relevant and worthwhile.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but not worth the hype, March 25, 2003

By 

Canuck (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Zone: How & Why Pilots Die (Hardcover)

The use of statistics is pretty questionable -- the author cites the absolute number of accidents at different experience levels, but not the *rate* of accidents.

Are there more accidents between 50 and 350 hours because those pilots are less safe, or just because there are more pilots with 50-350 hours experience? The Killing Zone may actually exist, but the numbers in this book don't prove it; in fact, they may give a false sense of security to pilots with more than 350 hours experience, because their accident rates may be relatively higher than they think (how many private pilots give up before 350 hours?).

When you strip away the number games, what's left? This book does contain good safety information and a selection of accident reports, but that information is no different that what you will find in a typical flying magazine or online article: don't fly VFR into IMC, don't turn back when the engine fails just after takeoff, etc. etc. By all means, read it, but read STICK AND RUDDER and THEY CALLED IT PILOT ERROR first -- they'll give you far more for your time and money.