Wife confirms man killed in plane crash is Senate candidate

[hack89]

24. Wellstone died because he had a crappy pilot.

Aviation Charter’s lead ground instructor stated that the pilot was average on
learning airplane systems and that several company pilots had indicated that the pilot’s
flying skills were below average. Several Aviation Charter pilots who had flown with the
accident pilot described him as “very meticulous,” “by the book,” “calm,” and “laid back.”
The pilot was also described as “friendly,” “cheerful,” “pleasant,” “calm,” and “diligent in
his use of checklists.” According to several Aviation Charter copilots, the accident pilot was
generally well liked by them because he had a reputation for letting them fly the airplane.
A few copilots stated that because the pilot often let them handle the flight controls, they
were not certain of his skill level. Several Aviation Charter pilots indicated that the accident
pilot often allowed them to conduct the flights they flew with him as if they were
single-pilot operations (that is, he allowed them to handle the flight controls and
communications and perform all of the checklists without his assistance).

One Aviation Charter pilot expressed concerns about the pilot’s flying skills,
monitoring capabilities, and tendency to become distracted. Some company pilots stated that
the accident pilot was not particularly assertive; however, other pilots stated that they
thought the accident pilot could be assertive, if necessary. One company pilot, who had
flown with the accident pilot shortly after Aviation Charter hired him, described him as “too
timid to be a pilot.” An Aviation Charter King Air pilot indicated that he had taken the
airplane controls away from the accident pilot during an instrument approach because he
could not maintain altitude. A company King Air copilot indicated that during level flight in
IMC, he had to take the controls away from the accident pilot because he allowed the
airplane to enter a 45° bank and a 1,000-fpm descent.

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2003/AAR0303.pdf