Overview
AOPA Air Safety Foundation has calculated that 75% of all general aviation accidents are attributed to improper pilot decision-making. The problem originates with initial flight training: the syllabuses mandated for flight licensure are heavily regulation- and task-oriented. The primary focus is on regulation compliance and flight maneuvers and only secondarily on practical airmanship. As a result, the decision-making skills of new pilots often get them into trouble. Though pilot experience appears to correlate with safer outcomes, it is not clear if more flying leads to better in-air decision-making: according to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's 2007 Nall Report about 60% of all fatalities involve a high-time (1000+ flight hour) pilot in command. Further, the likelihood that a personal flying accident is fatal is the same for newer and high-time pilots.
The Aviators Model Code of Conduct was written as a response to this perceived gap between license requirements and practical airmanship. In 2003, Michael S. Baum put together the first version as a one-page summary of “lessons learned”. Today, the Code of Conduct is a comprehensive set of detailed recommendations for aviator decision-making in the air and on the ground.
Read more about this topic: Aviators Model Code Of Conduct