Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan said he worries about the flying skills of pilots today. The type-rated Learjet 45 pilot, who was the last man to walk on the moon, commented to AIN at last month�s Bombardier Safety Stand-down in Wichita, �I worry about the complacency that technology is imposing on pilots. Pilots tend to become overwhelmed with all the lights on these glass panels and forget they still have a responsibility to fly the airplane.�

Cernan believes that part of the solution is pilots being honest about their flying skills and their shortcomings. Reflecting on his own skill level, he said, �Just because youve gone to the moon doesnt mean you�re exempt from making stupid decisions. Ive made a lot of them in my life.� Cernan, who now flies a Cessna 421, hopes honesty about his own vulnerabilities will allow other pilots to see their own a little more clearly. He said his 421 has a glass PFD and MFD and terrain avoidance technology that�s �supposed to keep me from killing myself; but if that technology fails, I still need to fly the airplane and miss that mountaintop.�

He added that attending the Safety Stand-down has forced him to be more introspective when he flies. �It�s easy to preach and a little more difficult to do,� he said. �I always feel a little guilty now when I�m flying if I take a shortcut that I told someone else not to try. I call it the stand-down effect.�