By Paul Bertorelli

When a light general aviation airplane crashes, the consequences may very well be like the proverbial unwitnessed tree falling in the forest—the silence can be deafening and public disinterest underwhelming. But if the crash venue is in a major city—New York—and the victim a celebrity—a star athlete—the clamor to explain why it happened even before the wreckage cools rises to the level of distraction, as it certainly did following the Cory Lidle Cirrus SR20 crash on October 11.

While the NTSB steadfastly resisted instant analysis, what it did have to say soon after the crash contained important survival wisdom for all pilots: a reminder about the relationship of speed to aircraft…