Aspen Accident

I think the main contributing factor to the accident was the approach and how it should not have been conducted at night. The article listed the pressure of clients in charter operations but both the pilots had exposure to this prior to the incident and most likely knew how to handle it. They picked a alternate in Rifle, CO which had clear weather and skies. I also feel the fact that they shot the approach at night in full IMC on a non precision approach contributed to the accident. The error chain occurred when they decided to shoot the approach that close to night,  the pilots mistakenly had spotted the runway to the right when it was on the left, using full spoilers even though it is not recommended in the POH, and not reacting to the Ground Proximity Warning System.
What would I do differently if I was in the situation? In their position I do not think I would have continued the approach after hearing the second challenger go missed approach. I am not saying that you can just rely on what others are doing for decisions but the fact of that with it being night and I have never shot the approach into there at night would lead me to follow suit on going missed.            

The question is asked how I would deal with a passenger if my job was on the line. Is the job worth dying for? To be honest I am not sure I can think of single job worth that. If you are PIC then you are PIC and the passenger has to listen. But you will be alive in the end. A passenger is not PIC and when you let them make PIC decisions it is risky road. There is a reason they hire the pilot to fly the plane.

Single Pilot IFR

Single pilot IFR. Sounds pretty scary and draws images of one pilot alone in the clouds overburdened with a thousand things to do in a plane that probably shouldn’t be used in perfect weather let alone solely by reference to the instruments. After reading this I think what we are getting at here is how comfortable you are flying IFR while in IMC by ourselves. We are asked if we would consider flying single pilot IFR. Personally, it would depend on the conditions. A flight that involves an enroute portion through the clouds would be different than a flight that a departure under IMC, IMC along the whole route, and finally a approach to minimums. Personally, at my current experience level flying the enroute part of the flight in IMC and part of the approach IMC would be within my minimums. A flight that would had IMC from departure through approach would be no-go decision right at my current experience level. One of the tips I took from the article was to rehearse the flight with expected alternates and emergencies. Currently when going IFR I have my alternates and I have seen the approach plate and I know the procedures for an emergency. Rehearsing specifically for the flight is important so you catch snags on the ground rather than in flight. Obviously one can’t rehearse a 6hr flight out completely but you prepare for the departure, approach, flying to the alternate, and how to approach an emergency that develops along your route.

In-Flight Electrical Fires Response

A short circuit occurs when the electricity is flowing along a different path than the one that it was intended to follow so our safety features such as circuit breakers and fuses cannot stop it. The short circuit will be particularly difficult to stop unless we shut the electrical system down because it will continue to flow.
The procedure in the Seminole follows along with what the article was getting at. The article was indicating the idea that just pulling a circuit breaker is not a through response because damage can still be occurring. The Seminole checklists calls for the electrical system to be shut down by turning off the battery master, alternator, all electrical switches, radio master switch, it then says to close the vents, and turn the cabin heat off. All of this is designed to make it possible to safely land the aircraft because continuing flight would be unsafe because now the aircraft is no longer airworthy.
The way I thought about electrical failures was that they were an emergency but not on the level of an engine failure but not as mundane as a alternator inoperative light. But my perception of electrical fires is that they are a much more serious emergency than I thought and when I handle one in the future it will be with different mindset and assertiveness to end the fire as soon as possible.