Out of Control: Many Pilots Fail Routine Test of Skill

For pilots, a split-second decision can be life or death.And that’s where training comes in. Lessons learned in the flight simulator are meant to teach the right instincts when there isn’t much time to think.That’s why Federal investigators say they were surprised to learn up to 70% of pilots made the wrong decision when given an aerodynamic “stall scenario” in training. Basically, they’re supposed to push down on the throttle but for some reason, they pulled back. When the pilot in the Buffalo crash pulled back, it triggered a catastrophe that killed 50 people. We spoke with experts and got rare access to a New York area flight simulator to learn more.