The Pilot's Burden: Flight Safety and the Roots of Pilot Error

by Robert N. Buck

During his 37 years at TWA, beginning with the Douglas DC-2 and ending with the Boeing 747, Buck was the company's chief pilot and the director of thunderstorm research. He traces the history and development of pilot skills and concepts of flight safety to argue that pilots today are probably being asked to perform flawlessly in an environment that generates opportunity for error, and that such a situation strips them of the autonomy to use the very judgment that passengers, companies, governments, and society requires them to have. He does not index his work. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

237 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1995