Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago
Special guest Henry Gourdji shares the work of the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation, which presents the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. The air safety award has been given in recognition of aviation safety leadership since 1956. Recipients include John Goglia in 2020.
The award grew out of the 1945 crash of a DC3 that killed all 20 crew and passengers, including Laura Taber Barbour. Her family created the award to recognize significant air safety achievements. Henry highlights the ongoing dedicated work of air safety professionals.
John and Henry discuss the international scope of the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation. In addition to the annual awards, the foundation provides scholarships to encourage students to pursue aviation safety careers.
Todd Curtis and Greg Feith share John’s continued contributions to aviation safety, including the recent AMC Competition in Chicago and a recent U.S. Senate hearing that mentioned his role in preventing accidents like the structural failure of an Aloha Airlines 737 in 1988.
The detectives share their experiences working with younger aviation professionals who have the drive, passion, and capabilities to continue to improve aviation safety.
Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.
Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8
Special guest Henry Gourdji shares the work of the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation, which presents the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. The air safety award has been given in recognition of aviation safety leadership since 1956. Recipients include John Goglia in 2020.
The award grew out of the 1945 crash of a DC3 that killed all 20 crew and passengers, including Laura Taber Barbour. Her family created the award to recognize significant air safety achievements. Henry highlights the ongoing dedicated work of air safety professionals.
John and Henry discuss the international scope of the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation. In addition to the annual awards, the foundation provides scholarships to encourage students to pursue aviation safety careers.
Todd Curtis and Greg Feith share John’s continued contributions to aviation safety, including the recent AMC Competition in Chicago and a recent U.S. Senate hearing that mentioned his role in preventing accidents like the structural failure of an Aloha Airlines 737 in 1988.
The detectives share their experiences working with younger aviation professionals who have the drive, passion, and capabilities to continue to improve aviation safety.
Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.
Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8










![Smart Pilot Makes Bad Decision and Pays with His Life - Episode 268
A pilot with many hours of experience and an instructor rating died following the bad decision to fly his newly purchased airplane without first understanding how the aircraft systems operate. He also did not review the logbooks or have the plane looked over after 10 years sitting idle.
The pilot had purchased a Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche. Key facts in the NTSB report and public docket show that the pilot did not have a pre-buy inspection, was not familiar with the aircraft’s systems, and ignored the advice of his friend and former CFI to not fly.
The pilot knew about a landing gear indication light problem before takeoff. He proceeded without resolving it or reviewing the appropriate emergency procedures for operating the landing gear. The plane stalled and crashed while he tried to troubleshoot the issue in flight.
In this analysis with John Goglia and Todd Curtis, Greg Feith shares that he is currently in the process of buying a used airplane. Like the accident pilot, the aircraft has not flown in several years. Unlike the accident pilot, he is working closely with an experienced mechanic to make the aircraft airworthy and to examine all systems on the aircraft.
Greg is frustrated with the quality of the decisions made by the pilot before and during the flight. He’s further critical of the NTSB’s analysis of this accident. The probable cause statement focuses on a stall that happened at the end of the flight rather than all the pilot actions before and during the flight.
“[The NTSB probably cause statement is] so vanilla. It is such a cop-out,” Greg says.
This accident is a result of poor aeronautical decision-making by the pilot and the actions of others around the pilot who failed to assert proper safety practices.
Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8 Smart Pilot Makes Bad Decision and Pays with His Life - Episode 268](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ujYKumP6scE/mqdefault.jpg)