Controlling Pilot Error: Training & Instruction (Paperback)

by David Frazier (Author) "Pilot error. What comes to mind when you hear that phrase?..." (more)
Key Phrases: unsafe supervision, older mechanic, pilot errors, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, The Heart of Training (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I love the idea of the 10-volume set. This is a great price point, and the topics appear to be diverse enough, that they will appeal very broadly. With good packaging and writing, this series could easily become a real staple in the industry. I love it." Andy Holcomb, Specialty Accounts; "Broad-spectrum appeal should work well in market. Great price." John Wing, Wing-Aero"

Product Description
With up to 80% of accidents attributed to pilot error, this new series is critically important. It identifies and examines the ten top areas of concern to pilot safety. Each book contains real-life pilot stories drawn from FAA/NASA databases, valuable "save-yourself" techniques and an action agenda of preventive techniques pilots can implement to avoid risks.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 149 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (June 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071373187
• ISBN-13: 978-0071373180
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #828,832 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, February 18, 2002

By A Customer

Mr. Frazier does a great job of getting down to nuts and bolts of the CFI's impact on aviation training and his role in aviation safety. He is a great author - I couldn't put it down until I was done with it. In fact, I am looking for other books that Mr. Frazier has written... A must read!

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written books, August 11, 2005

By	Sean (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

As a relatively low time pilot I found this series to be informative reading that helped to strengthen areas where I was weak. Unlike Mr. Hedges, who claims to be a professional pilot, I thought that the book was quite good. I suspect that Hedges took more time to write his review than he did to read this series of useful books.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pompous Windbag Rants About Flying, March 13, 2005

By	Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a truly worthless book, especially for the experienced pilot. I do not think the "Controlling Pilot Error" series is all that strong to begin with, but this is unquestionably the worst offering in the series. David Frazier, a lifelong flight instructor, spends the vast majority of this book essentially trashing the reputation of other pilots (some of whom are dead). He is disrespectful at best and spiteful at worst. The book is filled with proofreading and grammatical errors (a common example is "pic" instead of "PIC", an acronym for Pilot In Command, hence the capitalization), and betrays his almost exclusive experience in light, single-pilot aircraft as he makes sizable mistakes almost every time he discusses situations that occurred in airliners.

Frazier comes across as a self-important pompous crab who is jealous of anyone younger and more successful than himself. I'm not saying he is that way, but that's how he comes across. I know several other people who read this book, and they universally had the same observations. A prime example of ignorance and arrogance starts on page 93, where he discusses a Northwest crew that forgot to configure the aircraft for takeoff and subsequently crashed. It's obvious Frazier doesn't know much about airline operations, the MD-80, or taxiing in a busy airport, as almost everything he says is inaccurate. The crew was not joking (perhaps he was confusing it with a similar accident at Dallas; perhaps he should have double checked the NTSB reports before turning this in to the publisher...), they were very busy dealing with a complicated taxi reroute at night. If this were an isolated incident in the book it would be tolerable, but that is not the case.

Frazier goes through a tortuous and ultimately fallacious discussion of soloing students in high winds. He chastises a new CFI for not soloing a student in high winds because he should have been taught how to handle the winds. Well, before the applicant takes his flight test, he will have to demonstrate competency in crosswind operations, but first solos are a major deal, not only for skills but for psyche: if an instructor doesn't feel comfortable soloing a student on any day for any reason, he is the one who has the best knowledge of the student's capabilities and should never be pressured to solo a student he deems not to be ready. (What is scary is that Frazier is the Director of Aviation at Jackson Community College in Jackson, Michigan. I know where my friends and family won't go to learn about flying.)

Frazier also berates pilots who complain about long duty days. On page 114 he even says this about a CFI who had had an extremely long duty day, made an error, and wrote a very candid and professional report of his error: "He seems to me to be a poster boy for the me generation....And oh yes, he was tired from working a long day. Poor baby." I would never work with or for someone who had this attitude. I wonder what the hours for a CFI at Jackson Community College are? I wouldn't want to work there. Later in the book he discusses an airline crew that attempted a takeoff with one engine left unstarted which the Captain attributed to a long duty day. Frazier seems to have no problem with that incident, but that just furthers my observation of huge internal inconsistencies in this book, and in Frazier's rationale.

He discusses the Eastern 401 Everglades accident on pages 126 and 127, but didn't even know for sure where the accident happened (once again, maybe looking at the source material before writing is a good idea...). It is obvious that he only understands the accident in extremely general terms (I have a type rating on the L-1011 among other aircraft, and recommend against using this book for any airliner related information); he clearly does not understand the L-1011 autopilot, CRM, or ATC issues involved in the Eastern 401 accident.

He wraps everything up with some safety tips which essentially boil down to "stay vigilant and avoid mistakes". The last paragraph of the book is OK, but that's the only paragraph of the book that even comes close to making the grade.

This book is really pathetic in every way; I would recommend it to nobody under any circumstances. Now that I have written this review I am going to throw my copy in the trash, because I don't even want to give it away where it could be read again by an unsuspecting and trusting person.

Utterly wretched.