The Killing Zone: How & Why Pilots Die

Maybe just get an Antinov AN 2. "It would take quite an effort to crash one." - Skyships Eng

This book contains detailed review of pilot induced errors through many NTSB accident reports categorized by cause and commented by author. Many typical cases of pilot errors are selected to describe possible cause-effect scenarios. Author also presents statistical charts whose purpose is to warn students and low time pilots. Since I am PPL pilot student, I found this book a good source of information on GA pilot mistakes. If you are also low timer (50-350 hours) read it and fly quite a bit safer. On down side I must mention it would be useful to see more photos and drawings from actual accidents.

Craig's research reveals weak spots in the planning and experience of many pilots, describing both intentional and inadvertent actions which commonly lead to accidents. Knowledge is power, but overconfidence can be fatal; nothing makes this more clear than The Killing Zone. Many, if not all, of the accidents Craig cites could have been avoided with proper planning or decisionmaking. Outsiders might find it morbid, but a good pilot learns from others' mistakes and passes that knowledge on. Craig has done a great service to the aviation community with this important read - even pilots outside the Killing Zone (50 to 350 hours of experience) can benefit.

The first part of the book shows the statistics gathered to define the killing zone. This first part of the book is really boring and seems as if Craig is trying to say that you are more likely to get killed flying, than driving. The body of the book is where it gets interesting. As a student pilot that has not yet flown through the killing zone this educational section of the book was really helpful. Crag breaks the body chapters in to 12 problem areas, each chapter explaining how to prevent and recover from each problem. The one major thing that Craig did not refer to very much in the book is human factors or human errors. I was told from a ground school instructor that 65% of all general aviation accidents involved some type of pilot error. Something this significant should have been mentioned in the book. Over all this is a really good book for student pilots. It will be one of my many reference materials as I fly through the killing zone.

My CFI recommended this book a while back, and I've recently passed my PP-ASEL checkride. The wet weather this December has kept me grounded, so I picked this up in order to do a little "chair-flying".Like the other reviewers, I also had some concerns about the validity of the statistics used to define "the killing zone". However, once I got past the marketing hype of the title, I had a hard time putting this book down. The author has nicely organized the most common ways GA pilots have killed themselves, collected case studies of relevant aviation incidents from the NTSB and NASA/ASRS archives, and provides advice on avoiding these scenarios from his personal experiences as a pilot and a CFI.The NTSB reports are summarized, but the incident numbers are provided so you can read the reports in their entirety online: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.aspI picked up a few pointers, and I expect I'll be re-reading it several times. This book demonstrates the importance of staying current, continuing on with IFR training, and challenging yourself vs "boring holes in the sky" to build hours.

Dr. Craig's book, The Killing Zone, is based on the combination of well-researched studies and years of general aviation flying. The Killing Zone, 50 to 350 flight hours, is a crucial and life-threatening time in a pilot's career. Craig portrays the most common mistakes pilots make in the zone and provides helpful insights on how to avoid these mistakes. I highly recommend this book to student pilots and professional pilots alike. For the professional pilots, who sucessfully flew through the Zone, this book will refresh your memory on forgotten yet pertinent elements to safe general aviation flying. The information in this book will aid in the prevention of an accident and ultimatley save your life- a must read for all pilots!