It sounds like the setup to a bad aviation joke: What do an F-16 and a Cirrus have in common? Let me think: One shoots and the other chutes? Except, in this case, the real punch line isn't funny. It's tragic. The answer is that, in both cases, a leading cause of fatalities is controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). That's the name for accidents in which there's nothing at all wrong with the aircraft, yet the pilot finds a way to fly into the ground. Such loss of control and awareness might be set up by weather, night conditions, an unusual flight attitude-and the tragedy can unfold quickly or slowly.
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