by Ken Ibold

Pilots tend to measure the risk of flying as being directly proportional to the distance to be covered. To a large extent this is true. Long trips tend to throw changing weather, fatigue and fuel management into the mix.

But short trips can have those elements, too. Perhaps pilots get goaded into complacency because the distance is short. Perhaps they are more accepting of risks that may pile up because of some kind of perceived protection offered by the short time they plan to be in the air. …