His improper go-around is not in dispute, and I haven't talked about it because I can't say anything that a thousand other people haven't already elsewhere. The beef I'm currently discussing is with the subsequent deaf pilots that landed when the runway had emergency vehicles and people on it.
I never said that flying without a radio is the pinnacle of safety, nor did I suggest that legal=safe. That said, there are parachute jumpers that land next to the runway at my airport. There are ultralight pilots that are NORDO, and there are hangars full of planes that fly without the radio getting turned on because 77S is out in the boondocks, and some of these old guys just hate talking to other people.
Not my cup of tea, but it seems to me that a component of aviation safety involves being aware that there are people w/o radios out there, not to mention people on other frequencies, instructor/student pairs with the radio turned down, and yes, the occasional deaf pilot.
If I relied on nothing but radio traffic to control my situational awareness, I'd be bypassing the best aid every pilot is equipped with, the Mk I Eyeball.
...unless there are BLIND pilots out there too. holy bejeesus, that's a scary thought. Kinda like the brail on the numbers at drive-up ATMs, that'd keep the ol' sphincter muscle excercised.
So, um, where'd you get the idea that I would accept 1+Clear of Clouds as my personal weather minimum? Sure, the FARs say it's ok, but I have plenty of minimums that are more conservative then the book says. For example, I fly day VFR with more then 30 minutes extra fuel, wouldn't take a passenger up without having done my landings a lot more recent then 90 days previous, and so on.
