Rating: 
Summary: Awful
Review: 1) We like to think it won't happen to us...and it probably won't if we consistently make good choices. Here are some examples of bad ones in predictable circumstances. 2) Landing decisions do not kill...its the take off decision. 3) Know your limits, don't be tempted to go past them, and work hard to improve your skills. These are the major themes I took from this very good book. Don't be put off by the "shock value" of the title. This book is a thoughtful discussion of disastrous results and how to avoid them. It is a review of pilots who have made bad choices in critical areas and they (and even more tragically sometimes their passengers) have not lived to learn. Who better to teach us? As the old cliché goes..."learn from the mistakes of other pilots as you will never live long enough to make them all yourself". As a pilot just coming out of the killing zone (450 hours) I can give a testimony to one point made in the book. If you survive your mistakes (and every pilots has them) you should learn from them. If not you have wasted the good luck at having lived to tell about them. If you are a pilot who has had good instruction you probably will encounter very little brand new information here (other than the statistical analysis) but I still found GREAT VALUE in the review, focus, and breadth of the topics covered. Other than a tendency to drag a little at a very few points it is well written and presented. The last chapter about the press is probably not relevant to the purpose of the book (but I still agree with everything he says!!). If you care about a pilot or are a pilot who cares about his passengers THIS is a great book purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: a great book for pilots with 50, 500, or 5000 hours
Review: 1) We like to think it won't happen to us...and it probably won't if we consistently make good choices. Here are some examples of bad ones in predictable circumstances. 2) Landing decisions do not kill...its the take off decision. 3) Know your limits, don't be tempted to go past them, and work hard to improve your skills. These are the major themes I took from this very good book. Don't be put off by the "shock value" of the title. This book is a thoughtful discussion of disastrous results and how to avoid them. It is a review of pilots who have made bad choices in critical areas and they (and even more tragically sometimes their passengers) have not lived to learn. Who better to teach us? As the old cliché goes..."learn from the mistakes of other pilots as you will never live long enough to make them all yourself". As a pilot just coming out of the killing zone (450 hours) I can give a testimony to one point made in the book. If you survive your mistakes (and every pilots has them) you should learn from them. If not you have wasted the good luck at having lived to tell about them. If you are a pilot who has had good instruction you probably will encounter very little brand new information here (other than the statistical analysis) but I still found GREAT VALUE in the review, focus, and breadth of the topics covered. Other than a tendency to drag a little at a very few points it is well written and presented. The last chapter about the press is probably not relevant to the purpose of the book (but I still agree with everything he says!!). If you care about a pilot or are a pilot who cares about his passengers THIS is a great book purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly Good Book
Review: As a pilot who had already made it through the "Killing Zone" and past the 350 hour hour mark, I was doubtful that this book would have much new insight for me. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, for two reasons. First, Paul Craig did an excellent job describing how each of many procedures should be performed properly AND what the common pitfalls were. So many books tell you how to do it right and then do not mention what the common traps and errors are. Second, while many of the several hundred suggestions and stories in the book were not new to me, quite a few were, and I learned more than I expected. For example, the case of a pilot who took off in the morning on a cold day having drained the sumps diligently. 45 minutes into the flight the ice in the tanks (due to improperly replaced fuel caps) melted and caused the engine to stop. The moral here is that if you find loose fuel caps and the temperature is below freezing, it is not enough to simply drain the sumps. You need to put the plane in a hanger (or let the sun warm it up) until you are confident that there is no ice inside. Another example is LAHSO operations and how they work and that the controllers will tell you how much distance you have if you ask. After reading that I memorized my home field dimensions and am prepared to visualize whether 3000 feet is enough for me to safely LAHS. Perhaps the best concept he explored was complacency and our natural tendencies as pilots to extrapolate. We miss an item on the checklist once and nothing goes wrong so we think we do not need it. I was sad to read how many people learned this lesson the hard way when they missed a simple yet crucial checklist item that could have prevented a terrible crash. As long as there are any planes crashing due to human error, this book is relevant and worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly Good Book
Review: As a pilot who had already made it through the "Killing Zone" and past the 350 hour hour mark, I was doubtful that this book would have much new insight for me. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, for two reasons. First, Paul Craig did an excellent job describing how each of many procedures should be performed properly AND what the common pitfalls were. So many books tell you how to do it right and then do not mention what the common traps and errors are. Second, while many of the several hundred suggestions and stories in the book were not new to me, quite a few were, and I learned more than I expected. For example, the case of a pilot who took off in the morning on a cold day having drained the sumps diligently. 45 minutes into the flight the ice in the tanks (due to improperly replaced fuel caps) melted and caused the engine to stop. The moral here is that if you find loose fuel caps and the temperature is below freezing, it is not enough to simply drain the sumps. You need to put the plane in a hanger (or let the sun warm it up) until you are confident that there is no ice inside. Another example is LAHSO operations and how they work and that the controllers will tell you how much distance you have if you ask. After reading that I memorized my home field dimensions and am prepared to visualize whether 3000 feet is enough for me to safely LAHS. Perhaps the best concept he explored was complacency and our natural tendencies as pilots to extrapolate. We miss an item on the checklist once and nothing goes wrong so we think we do not need it. I was sad to read how many people learned this lesson the hard way when they missed a simple yet crucial checklist item that could have prevented a terrible crash. As long as there are any planes crashing due to human error, this book is relevant and worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: A good survey of flight safety.
Review: Author Paul Craig's thesis -- that low time pilots face special risks
due to their lack of experience -- is generally unremarkable. After
all, the aviation community has long regarded experience as the single
most important factor in flight safety. While the author's basic
premise is well known, his thorough examination of the 'killing
zone' -- his term for the statistically risky period between 50 and
350 total flight hours - is well handled. With thorough analysis
of NTSB data combined with his own research the author presents a
survey of aviation's "best practices". Pilots will find this
material familiar, but will appreciate the author's detailed, in-depth
approach. Where 'The Killing Zone' stumbles is in its practical
advice for new pilots. The author's suggestions are too general, and
differ little from those found elsewhere. Controversial remedies such
as requiring the flight schools to be more forthright about flying
risks, or implementing mandatory ongoing training for low time pilots,
are avoided altogether. Stronger editing - describing an accident
as having occurred in a "Money M20C" (sic) seems a little sloppy
- would also have helped. "The Killing Zone" is a worthy
read for all pilots, and new pilots in particular will benefit from
this ambitious, if slightly flawed, examination of flight safety.
Rating:
Summary: A good survey of flight safety.
Review: Author Paul Craig's thesis -- that low time pilots face special risksdue to their lack of experience -- is generally unremarkable. Afterall, the aviation community has long regarded experience as the singlemost important factor in flight safety. While the author's basicpremise is well known, his thorough examination of the 'killingzone' -- his term for the statistically risky period between 50 and350 total flight hours - is well handled. With thorough analysisof NTSB data combined with his own research the author presents asurvey of aviation's "best practices". Pilots will find thismaterial familiar, but will appreciate the author's detailed, in-depthapproach.Where 'The Killing Zone' stumbles is in its practicaladvice for new pilots. The author's suggestions are too general, anddiffer little from those found elsewhere. Controversial remedies suchas requiring the flight schools to be more forthright about flyingrisks, or implementing mandatory ongoing training for low time pilots,are avoided altogether. Stronger editing - describing an accidentas having occurred in a "Money M20C" (sic) seems a little sloppy- would also have helped."The Killing Zone" is a worthyread for all pilots, and new pilots in particular will benefit fromthis ambitious, if slightly flawed, examination of flight safety.
Rating: 
Summary: Attention all pilots: Read this book!
Review: Dr. Craig's book, The Killing Zone, is based on the combination of well-researched studies and years of general aviation flying. The Killing Zone, 50 to 350 flight hours, is a crucial and life-threatening time in a pilot's career. Craig portrays the most common mistakes pilots make in the zone and provides helpful insights on how to avoid these mistakes. I highly recommend this book to student pilots and professional pilots alike. For the professional pilots, who sucessfully flew through the Zone, this book will refresh your memory on forgotten yet pertinent elements to safe general aviation flying. The information in this book will aid in the prevention of an accident and ultimatley save your life- a must read for all pilots!
Rating:
Summary: It could save your life
Review: I like this book because even though we all know everything in this book, how many of us get lazy and cut corners. How many of us climb on the airplane and check the fuel level. I have gotten a few surprises. Reading this book while it is a recap still is a good idea. Also, I really liked the book.
Rating:
Summary: It could save your life
Review: I like this book because even though we all know everything in this book, how many of us get lazy and cut corners. How many of us climb on the airplane and check the fuel level. I have gotten a few surprises. Reading this book while it is a recap still is a good idea. Also, I really liked the book.
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly Good Book
Review: My CFI recommended this book a while back, and I've recently passed my PP-ASEL checkride. The wet weather this December has kept me grounded, so I picked this up in order to do a little "chair-flying".Like the other reviewers, I also had some concerns about the validity of the statistics used to define "the killing zone". However, once I got past the marketing hype of the title, I had a hard time putting this book down. The author has nicely organized the most common ways GA pilots have killed themselves, collected case studies of relevant aviation incidents from the NTSB and NASA/ASRS archives, and provides advice on avoiding these scenarios from his personal experiences as a pilot and a CFI. The NTSB reports are summarized, but the incident numbers are provided so you can read the reports in their entirety online: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp I picked up a few pointers, and I expect I'll be re-reading it several times. This book demonstrates the importance of staying current, continuing on with IFR training, and challenging yourself vs "boring holes in the sky" to build hours.
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