I’ve been reading the various “posts” about the SR22 accident with interest. I have no idea what really happened, and who really thinks what is to blame. [end diclaimer]
However, it has led me to consider at what point a PIC can blame their training in general…
I am having a great deal of difficulty with that one, for it seems to me that once the FAA grants you your “PRIVATE PILOT - SE - LAND… etc.” that it becomes YOUR RESPONSIBILITY and yours alone to do everything in your power to fly safely. In other words, in my model the threshold standards for blaming poor training go up significantly once you have your ticket. For it seems to me that, above all else, in accepting that ticket you are accepting responsibility for being Pilot-In-Command.
Now, I can try and think of exceptions, like perhaps you are taught a specific technique that is dead-wrong for your airplane… though I still believe even that is your responsibility to question/investigate.
I also believe it is your responsibilty as PIC to decide when you are well-trained enough in a new AC, not an instructors’. You are not a student pilot, still learning the very basics of flight. You are a PIC. That to me is a very serious, sobering title to assume. And with it comes a very simple idea:
If I fly into IMC without a rating because the briefer said clear wx, my fault for not turning around. If I run out of gas because I ordered 40 gallons and only got 20 and didn’t check it - my fault… period.
I, as PIC, am completely responsible for everything WITHIN MY CONTROL that happens in this flight.
Flying is not driving, and as people have posted here before, if the moving maps, STECS, and the 430’s of the world give people the illusion that somehow flying is inherently safe and forgiving, then a lot of people are in for an unpleasant surprise. There is a reason that the best airline pilots in the world, flying planes that are maintained by professionals, planes that can land themselves, STILL train all the time.
If we are fortunate enough to become pilots, I think we must understand we are accepting a degree of responsibilty far greater than we do in other areas of our lives. In short, I think if it is within our control - it is up to us.