Nine! As of this writing on August 23, nine US ag pilots have died in flight and one in Canada. Not an unheard of number in years past, but still unacceptable. In the last 26-27 years since PAASS was implemented, the lowest number of deaths was four in 2012, during a very slow spraying season overall. The highest number of recorded deaths was 19 in 2000 (Source NAAA).
Does this mean, despite all the efforts of the NAAA and individual operators, the focus on safety is a moot point? No, no way. When considering the number of flight hours and, in the case of the corn flight, the time frame, then sophisticated aircraft with multiple cockpit distractions, speed and size, the fatality numbers could have been much worse without PAASS and NAAA and NAAREF’s ongoing safety messages.
However, this leads one to think that without PAASS why Brazil has an equal number of fatal accidents, in proportion to the number of aircraft like the US with a roughly equal number of flight hours per season. This is a good question worth exploring. No one definitively knows the answer. Appropriate assumptions would be that a significant portion of the Brazilian ag aircraft fleet consists of the slower Ipanema aircraft, while the rest are turbines. Second, the fields in many parts of Brazil are usually wide with fewer obstacles. Additionally, Brazilian pilots must attend an ANAC (Brazilian FAA) certified ag-pilot school for their ag-pilot license. Although this training has a different approach than PAASS, it is still a safety factor.
Mission oriented, get the job done, just one more often overloaded load, against the competition, etc., is not an uncommon mentality for US ag pilots. This is not just the American ag-pilot population, but a part of American culture compared to that of a more relaxed attitude of Brazilian and Latin American cultures. I see this in my travels in the US and Latin America. American operators treat me very well when I visit, but I would never ask them to stop spraying because of this. They are busy and I understand why completely from my spraying mandate. But in Latin America, for the most part, it is different. When I visit the operators there, everything stops completely. Typically, a large barbeque is provided. I do not ask them to continue spraying, as it would be considered an insult to their efforts to welcome me.
I don’t see much opportunity for a cultural shift for either country. Everyone is pre-wired for how they approach life. It would be inappropriate to say that Latin Americans should push it a little or that Americans should slow down. But in the final assessment, a little less mission-oriented action on the part of American pilots would be a good thing. It might actually save a life or two, maybe even more!
Until next month,
Keep coming back
