Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"The only confusion, the critical confusion, in an instrument approach, is whether the navigation aids are set to the right frequency, or in the right mode, whether they're getting the proper indication in the cockpit on where they are in reference to the runway."

Source: Retired General Charles Bolden, in an interview with Houston's KTRK-TV after he read the transcripts of voice recordings on board a Gulfstream G-III that went down near Hobby Airport in November. The transcripts seemed to indicate the cockpit crew -- led by a captain with 19,000 hours of experience, was following the wrong navaid on approach. Bolden said that, although the cockpit crew "went by the book" after learning of their mistake, their actions came too late to save the plane -- and their lives.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov