Jenny Blalock was an aviation vlogger (social media star) that tragically killed herself and her father in December 2023 near Pulaski, Tennessee. Blalock, 45, began her aviation training in 2021 and used video cameras in the cockpit to document her experiences on her YouTube channel, TNFlygirl.

The 99-page NTSB report contains interviews with flight instructors who had flown with Blalock and commented on her lack of situational awareness and difficulty staying ahead of the airplane, specifically noting that she “demonstrated poor manual aircraft handling and struggled with cockpit automation, including autopilot and trim use” and sometimes got behind on the radio.

Two weeks before the accident, Blalock, who was in training for instrument certification, underwent a phase check and did not do well, according to the check instructor who in the NTSB report noted deficiencies on “almost all aspects of aircraft control, situational awareness, and risk management.” He reported that he advised her that she was behind the Debonair and that he believed she had purchased more aircraft than she was ready for, saying “She and her father did not disagree when I repeated this assessment.” You can read more here.

As a licensed private pilot with an intrument rating, it is clear to me that Jenny’s preoccupation with being a social media star fatally influenced her. [The fact that it took her 200 hours to secure a Private certificate is telling. I had a private certificate after 50 hours.] There is a video here evaluating why she was an incompetent pilot, something affirmed by the NTSB. There’s little doubt that the fawning compliments paid her by her social media admirers, few (if any) of whom had any aviation experience, played a significant role in her nascisstic, delusional behavior which ultimately killed both her and her father. Access to significant money also seems to have played a role. She was able to purchase a high-performance, expensive airplane – and I notice she was using very expensive Bose aviation headsets.

In the end, reality reared up and fact-checked her delusion that she was a competent pilot.

This increasngly happens today amidst a disintegrating culture where people indulge all manner of delusion. The Bible describes a “strong delusion” in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, stating that God sends it to those who reject truth and prefer unrighteousness. There is an article here about a 22-year-old woman who identified as a boy in her teen years, winning a $2 million decision in a landmark lawsuit against New York doctors accused of pushing a double mastectomy on her when she was a minor. It’s bad enough that a 16 year old teenager is seduced by a lie, but when educated and credentialed doctors succumb to the same lie, it is just a matter of time before reality slaps everyone in the face.

We can only defy reality for a limited period of time and there will always be consequences. Christians should always seek to live in harmony with reality. We do that by aligning our life with the Architect and Creator of all reality.