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United States Pilots Association |
USPA VP Arnold Zimmerman had some thoughtful comments regarding the Lexington accident, which may give you something to ponder in your own flying.
“You may want to publish this in your e-mail news. It will probably not affect many GA pilots because even I could have departed safely on Runway 26 at LEX. But it is a good idea to know where you are going.
Unless there was a wind blowing big time from the west, I would not have used runway 26 at Lexington, KY, in the early morning of the crash. There will be many people who will be blamed for this. But, I am thinking that the crew was not paying attention to where they were just before takeoff. So let's chalk this one up to pilot error.
My personal guidelines are, that if I am operating at an unfamiliar airport ready for takeoff, I must have seen the runway numbers painted on the runway that I am planning to depart on, or if not, check my compass and HSI to see that the heading agrees with the runway that I have lined up on.
A simple check like this at LEX should have disclosed the 40 degree difference and maybe 50 lives would have been saved.”
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association