I Learned about Flying from That
VFC General Manager
GM Corner
BGen (Ret’d) Gregory C.P. Matte, CD, PhD There’s a fine line between fear and overconfidence when it comes to flying. In my last article, I spoke of the “danger zone” and the point in which a pilot’s overconfidence can become detrimental to their airmanship, and even possibly a risk to their life. In this article, I’ll explore the other end of the spectrum…the fear of flying, or returning to flying, as a result of a significant experience. By now, most of you are aware of the unfortunate accident that occurred with GINH on the morning of Tuesday, February 18th, 2020. Although the cause of the engine failure remains yet to be determined, the outcome was that a young pilot by the name of Ryan McCall and his father Warren suddenly found themselves in an emergency situation that required an immediate forced landing. If you are aware of the accident, you are also aware that this fine young man demonstrated remarkable flying skills and outstanding airmanship in executing a forced landing into a field within the Blenkinsop Valley in the western shadow of Mount Doug. The fact that he and his father walked away from the inverted airplane (as a result of snagging a set of wires in a blueberry patch on “final” to his chosen field of landing) confirms unequivocally my previous observations on his abilities as a pilot. That said, my biggest concern after learning of the details of the accident and visiting the accident scene was to prevent Ryan from
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potentially becoming drawn into the insidious world of guilt, fear and PTSD. As a side note, “survivor guilt” is one of the worst forms of PTSD, but in this case, I wanted to ensure that Ryan would be able to go forward in his life without the albatross of guilt or shame that he had done something wrong on the fateful day that GINH’s engine decided to suddenly quit in mid-flight. As such, after I met him and his father and completed the necessary interview to capture the details of the accident, I made a point of reassuring him and his father that not only had he demonstrated remarkable airmanship in the most difficult of circumstances, but that he also had absolutely no responsibility in the engine failure or the damage that resulted with GINH as a result of the forced landing. I also wanted to ensure that he hadn’t lost the fear of flying, and encouraged him to “get back up” as soon as possible… something that he did two days later with one of his most trusted Flight Instructors at the Victoria Flying Club, Bryan Taylor. Something that few people know is that I harboured a deep-seated fear of flying for nearly two years before I commenced my Primary Flying Training on the CT-134 Muskateer at CFB Portage la Prairie during the summer of 1983. This fear had been the result of a flight with a high school friend during the summer of 1981. This same individual had recently completed his Private Pilot Licence, and had minimal experience. It was a warm summer’s day with thermals and
gusty breezes. After the third attempt at landing, he finally managed to land the Cessna 152… barely. The experience infused within me a deep-seated fear of flight, a secret that I harboured for two years, but revealed to no one, as this was my career path into military college and onwards within the Canadian Armed Forces. When I arrived at CFB Portage la Prairie in the summer of 1983, my anxiety was acute. However, my anxiety vanished the day that I undertook my first training flight in the CT-134 with my assigned instructor. The reason my anxiety (and deep-seated fear) vanished was due in large part to the professionalism, knowledge and empathy that my instructor displayed in the pre-brief classroom, then demonstrated in his thorough walk-around, flying skills and overall highly effective instructional methodology. As such, with this one flight my fear simply vanished! Fast forward five years, and I found myself as a newly minted, combat ready CF-18 fighter pilot on 433 (ETAC) Squadron in Bagotville,
Look out for further articles in the next Patricians!
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