Learning to Unlearn: Safety from a Trainee Pilot’s Lens

Before I ever touched the controls of an aircraft, I believed safety was all about procedures and checklists. Follow the steps, tick the boxes, memorise the emergency drills, and you’d be good. Simple, right? That was the idea, at least. But now, as I prepare to begin my flight training as a trainee pilot in New Zealand, I’ve come to realise that safety isn’t something you can just cram from a manual. It’s something deeper-something you carry with you in how you think, act, and respond. It’s not just a system. It’s a mindset.

The Illusion of Knowing

Understanding this mindset is crucial for trainee pilots, as it shapes their approach to every flight.

When I started this journey, I was obsessed with doing everything right. I pored over DGCA books, revised checklists like a mantra, and binge-watched air crash investigation episodes, trying to dissect each mistake and outcome. It comforted me, as if knowing everything would shield me from ever getting it wrong.

But then I sat on a real training flight during a school visit. The student flared too early during landing, and the instructor calmly called for a go-around. No drama. No scolding. Just a clear, measured response. That moment stuck with me. It wasn’t about being flawless- it was about being aware. About adjusting in the moment and moving forward. That experience was a subtle but powerful shift in how I understood safety. It made me realise that the real challenge isn’t avoiding mistakes, but recognising them quickly, responding appropriately, and not letting your ego get in the way.

Where Safety Really Lives

I used to think safety lived in procedures and rule-books. But over time, I’ve started to see that it lives in people, especially in the unspoken cues. A calm tone from an instructor. A pause before making a call. A student admitting, “/ don’t feel right about this approach.” That’s where safety starts to breathe.

There was a moment when I listened to an episode of Capt. Amit Singh’s mindFly Katha podcast, where he talked about inattentional blindness- how even experienced pilots can miss obvious things when their minds are overloaded. That hit me. As a student, you’re juggling so many thoughts: checklists, radio calls, maintaining altitude, scanning instruments. It’s easy to miss what’s right in front of you. The takeaway? Being present matters. You have to learn to feel the aircraft, not just fly it.

The more I listened to experienced pilots talk about their own near-misses, the more I respected their honesty. Their tone wasn’t heroic—it was reflective and thoughtful. They’d say things like, “I ignored my gut,” or “I should’ve clarified with the Air Traffic Control (ATC).” Those admissions aren’t weaknesses—they’re wisdom.

Unlearning the Hero Pilot Myth

Aviation has long been wrapped in the “super pilot” image: calm, collected, always in control. But the real strength in aviation today comes from something else entirely: vulnerability. The safest pilots I’ve come across are the ones who ask questions, double-check, and admit when they don’t know something.

As a student, the pressure to be perfect is very real. You want to impress your instructor, hit your landings, and sound confident on the radio. But I’m learning that being safe isn’t about getting it all right- it’s about speaking up when something doesn’t feel right. That mindset shift is hard, but necessary.

If you look at major incidents like Air France 447 or accidents involving spatial disorientation, the root causes often come down to human limitations under pressure. These weren’t due to a lack of training. There were situations where communication broke down, where responses weren’t aligned. And that brings us back to the idea that acknowledging our limits doesn’t make us weak- it makes us safer.

Safety Culture Begins in Flight School

Soon, I’ll be starting my training at Auckland International Pilot Academy. And I’m going in with a different mindset than when I first dreamed of becoming a pilot. Today, checklists feel less like chores and more like companions. They give me space to think and slow down.
They’re not about following rules- they’re about building habits.

I hope to learn in an environment where safety is a conversation, not a lecture, where instructors are mentors, not just evaluators, and where it’s okay to say, “I’m unsure,” or “Can we go over that again?” because that’s the space where real learning happens.

Eventually, I want to be the kind of pilot who doesn’t just perform well, but who also contributes to a safer atmosphere around me. Someone who lifts fellow cadets, normalises asking for help, and treats every debrief as a chance to grow.

The Cadet’s Pledge to Safety

I’m a cadet. I’ll make mistakes. I’ll forget a call-out here and there. I’ll over-correct. I’ll under trim. But I also know that every single one of those moments is a chance to improve, to stay sharp, stay grounded, and stay open to feedback.

Safety isn’t just about avoiding disaster. It’s about how you think, how you respond, and how you treat the people around you. It’s a mindset, not a milestone. A dialogue, not a monologue.

I’m still learning to fly. But if there’s one thing I know already, it’s this: the safest pilot in the room isn’t the one who gets everything right. It’s the one who keeps asking the right questions and never stops learning.