The Truth About Loss of Control Inflight: It Can Happen to Anyone

Veteran pilots and industry experts say awareness, planning and training are critical to surviving this life-threatening condition.

Keith Clark, senior quality control and technical representative at Phillips 66 Aviation, will receive the Flight Safety Foundation’s (FSF’s) 2026 Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award at the 2026 FSF Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS).

With very rare exception, the human at the controls is a key factor in every aviation mishap. All-too-common elements such as fatigue, job pressures, “get-there-itis” and task saturation conspire to quickly turn challenging situations into fatal accidents

Every year, countless aviation accidents occur on the ground, including collisions with vehicles during taxiing and towing, so-called “hangar rash” and runway incursions/excursions – just to name a few. Many of these can be significantly prevented through the learning opportunities at safety standdowns.