[PilotjohnS]

In reviewing the accident reports, I always wonder if the accident was caused by being unlucky, like an engine failure or mid air, or if it was planned. And I mean planned in a sense the the pilot intentionally did a risky maneuver and it didn't work out.

I can tolerate the chance accidents, and will work on reducing those by improving maintanence, incorporating advance traffic awareness, and other stuff. But I can't tolerate the accidents due to strafing runs, taking off without checking fuel quantity etc..

 

[kamikaze]

In reviewing the accident reports, I always wonder if the accident was caused by being unlucky, like an engine failure or mid air, or if it was planned. And I mean planned in a sense the the pilot intentionally did a risky maneuver and it didn't work out.

I can tolerate the chance accidents, and will work on reducing those by improving maintanence, incorporating advance traffic awareness, and other stuff. But I can't tolerate the accidents due to strafing runs, taking off without checking fuel quantity etc..

Not very appropriately named IMO.

I think what you mean is preventable/foreseeable vs. not.

Taken to the extreme, almost al accidents are preventable, even mechanical failures and so on ... dig dip enough, you'll find some human error somewhere that eventually led to that accident, the only variation is how directly connected the sequence of events are.

Ultimately as a home builder, you take on more of the responsibility, so any thing that might happen is more likely to be your fault. You still have some flexibility of course (you can use an A&P for all maintenance on your RV, NOT build your own engine, as some do, etc.).

The big factor would be things you unknowingly do wrong (I wasn't supposed to use RTV on my fuel lines???), vs. the risks you knowingly took (I, a VFR pilot, can go through that bad weather, it's OK, I'll make it, right?).

In the end, for both those examples, you could've prevented them. Problem is when you're in the "you don't know what you don't know" situation ...