Dear Sirs,
I just watched the video of the Citation Jet 2 running off the end of the runway. What a waste.
I fly the CJ1 for a living (my 336 for FUN!), and this incident can teach us all something usefull. That being that no matter how great the machine is, we as pilots can still try to do the impossible with predictable results. We must remember not to believe that the technology can always fix our mistakes or lack of skills.
In this case the aircraft landed long on a critical (IE SHORT and WET) runway. I am sure the pilot believed that the otherwise reliable power anti skid brakes would stop the aircraft as they had each time before. But physics proved that this not only would not happen this time, but COULD not.
I am paid to fly people SAFELY above all things. When we fly our aircraft we are well advised to stay safely within the true abilities of the man and the machine at all times. If things look bad they probably are and are likely to get worse. In the video all the pilot had to do was go around and try again, or better yet land elsewhere. He did not, with fully predictable results.
We all own perhaps one of the most capable light aircraft ever built, but if we push hard enough we too will be the subject of discussion, as other pilots attempt to understand why we continued on a path that lead to INCIDENT/ACCIDENT/DEATH.
Be safe , regards to all
James
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