Dear Editor,
An aircraft crash is better described as an accident which occurs when an aircraft in flight hits the ground, in an unscheduled or undesired manner resulting in damage to the aircraft or injury or death to the occupants. If an accident occurs after the landing which was unrelated to the flight, it could be called a post landing accident. If an accident occurs on the take-off run before the aircraft becomes airborne, it could be called a pre take-off accident. An accident at any other time would be just that, an aircraft accident or incident.
A landing gear collapse on the ramp or a person walking into a spinning propeller should not be counted or classified as a crash.
My concern is a rumour could start that flying in Guyana is a dangerous business because aircraft crashes occur on a regular basis, to quote the article ‘Twenty plane crashes in ten years’. The article explained the accidents, not all were crashes, but the public tends to remember headlines, especially the sensational. People tend to think of a crash as a disastrous affair (which it often is) in which people get killed in a ball of smoke and flames. Readers should also know that not all incidents/accidents are pilot error as there may well be circumstances beyond the control of the pilot which have to be taken into account.
Yours faithfully,
Gerry Sutton
