Our fatal accident investigators attend scenes of tragedies caused by the same few factors.

In October, we're publishing a special issue of Vector. It’s a first for us to produce an ‘out-of-cycle’ edition.

Why are we going to the expense, time, and trouble to produce this special edition? Well, fundamentally, our fatal accident investigators don’t want to visit your family.

They’ve learned that many flying tragedies are caused by one or more of quite a narrow range of factors.

Among the most common – a lack of flight planning (including getting the weather), VFR into IMC, overreliance on tech, and a generally careless attitude to flying within the rules. (Yes, rules are ‘boring and stop you having fun’, but they don’t come out of thin air and they are there to keep you safe.)

So the special edition of the magazine is about the experiences of the CAA’s fatal accident investigators, and the advice they have for you, based on what they find out – time and again – during their investigations.

Based on their observations, the special issue of Vector is going to look at, among other things:

• why planning and monitoring ‘the middle’ of a journey is so crucial
• the good reasons you should listen to your fellow aviators, and maybe even your family, when they say, ‘Mmmm, today’s a bit iffy, maybe don’t fly’
• really knowing your aircraft and its limitations.

Look out for the special issue mid-October this year. Reading it may just save your life.