Mishaps happen for a number of reasons, but all too often there's a "what were they thinking?" element to an NTSB accident report. In the calm, clear skies of retrospect—or a motionless easy chair—it's easy to condemn a bad decision and move on. But it's not usually a single bad decision that causes tragedy. Pilots don't take off intentionally choosing to put themselves in a no-win situation; they don't mean to kill themselves, their families and friends.
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