The BTC Philanthropist
· 1w
Pilots have final say on course. NTSB investigation will be interesting...
Yes, of course that’s true.
Just saying that ATC (at all levels) can give bad advice sometimes. It’s not entirely their fault. They are in windowless rooms, staring at screens watching echo tops. Most of them are not pilots and yet have authority over what pilots do — except in the case of safety of flight, which is the main reason why a pilot can deviate.
I’m not trying to be argumentative, or place blame on the pilots or ATC. Just adding nuance in understating this tragedy.
It’s easy to say the pilot(s) should have done diverted, or just decided no-go, given the outcome, but imagine trying to explain to a client who expects your to take their family and friends to the Bahamas in their $2M plane. It can be hard to say no.
FAA Safety can give pilots all the checklists, acronyms, and procedures they want. Get-there-itis and not-wanting-to-disappoint-your-passengers are REAL external pressures. Equally as dangerous as thunderstorms & icing.
