7/14/2013

 

The preliminary findings are pointing to pilot error in the crash of Asiana flight 214. Even though the captain was an experienced pilot, he was too low on his approach and waited too long to abort that landing attempt (“go around” and try again). He “undershot” it and in San Francisco the result of landing short on that runway is disastrous because the breakwater and the bay are right at the end of the runway.

 

There is little margin for error when landing an airplane. There’s a point of “no return” during a landing when it is too late to recover from a misjudgment, i.e. you can’t abort that landing and try again. A novice might think, “If you need to go a little farther, why not simply ‘give it some gas’ like you would in a car?” There is a big difference between a Boeing 777 that is on the verge of falling out of the sky going 150—170 mph and a car slowly rolling along on the ground. You see a landing is basically a controlled crash. A perfect landing requires the pilot to reduce the speed of the airplane to the point that it almost stalls (quits flying for lack of airspeed) just before the wheels touch the runway. This maneuver requires much skill and practice. If you try to speed up too late, the airplane cannot start flying again before hitting the ground. A safe landing requires good judgment and skillful control of the direction, speed, attitude and altitude of the airplane.

 

The same is true spiritually. Poor judgment and careless control of our life will always end in a fatal crash. We will not reach the “runway” (heaven) if we don’t stay on course and on glide slope. Airliners have instruments that lock into a signal from the ground to help them land safely (Instrument Landing System), but the one in San Francisco was shut down because of construction. Also, that pilot had no experience landing a 777 and had not landed on that runway before. Hence, a recipe for disaster.

 

Those who pay little or no attention to the spiritual speed, attitude and direction of their lives are headed for disaster. They are like the overconfident pilot who thinks “I’ve done this a 1,000 times without crashing; I don’t need any help”, while being totally unaware of the impending tragedy until its too late. Do not listen to Satan’s lie, i.e. “you can do it by yourself”. We must pay attention to ALL the elements of a successful and safe arrival at our desired destination. We have a flawless guidance system (The Bible) which is NEVER shut down, but if we are not “locked in” it will be of no benefit to us. We are doomed without it. Heed this warning from God:

 

“Therefore, since a promise remains of

entering His rest, let us fear lest any

of you seem to have come short of it.”

- Hebrews 4:1

 

Ken Dart