Two Speeds: Slow or Screw-Up

There are only two speeds in flying: 1) slow and methodical, or 2) screw‑up. Aviation does not reward rushing. Checklists, briefings, and flows are really just formal ways of saying, “Take your time, your brain needs it.” When a pilot chooses the slower tempo, the mind has room to notice the quiet little gremlins that would otherwise slip by and later demand very loud attention.

Hurrying feels fast, right up until it isn’t. Skip one cross‑check, “assume” that fuel caps or doors were checked, or rush a clearance readback, and time starts to bend out of shape. A missed switch position turns into a second start attempt, a hastened taxi briefing turns into confusion at a busy intersection, and a rushed approach becomes a go‑around and another lap in the sky.

In the best cases, the bill for hurrying is paid in embarrassment and delay: rejected takeoffs for configuration, returns to the ramp, or go-arounds from unstable approaches. Each of those represents interest paid on the tiny “loan” of a few seconds taken earlier. The payback comes in the form of extra checklists, extra taxi, extra coordination, extra everything. The slow, methodical version would quietly have been faster.

In the worst cases, those same rushed moments grow fangs. A preflight that overlooks something critical, a briefing that skims over terrain or NOTAMs, an approach flown to weather below minimums to “take a peek” instead of an early, time-consuming go‑around — these are the choices that can lead to a fatal accident. The airplane is a very loyal amplifier. Bring patience and discipline, and it will usually smooth out human wrinkles; bring haste and distraction, and it will enthusiastically turn them into sharp, unforgiving outcomes.

Choosing the slow speed is not about moving like molasses; it is a mindset. It is about refusing to let urgency squeeze judgment until it squeaks. The real choice is between “slow and methodical” and “fast and fixing,” with “fast and fatal” lurking just around the corner. There is no neutral speed. Either the operation is paced so that thinking stays ahead of the airplane, or the other speed — screw‑up has already been selected, just waiting for the bill to arrive.