History Main / CaptainCrash

* ''This continues in VideoGame/DeadSpace3,'', where Isaac must fly a heavily damaged shuttle from the frigate ''Roanouke'' to the surface of Tau Volantis, dodging mines and debris all the way down. [[ForegoneConclusion Needless to say, you crash]], but only two {{Mauveshirt}}s die. Strangely, Ellie, the actual pilot, [[InformedAbility doesn't do any piloting]]. Before that another ship you're on gets trashed by mines before you can enter orbit, a car get blown up before you can get in it and many, many autonomous transport vehicles crash when he attempts to cross a free way. Later on even 300-year-old wrecked vehicles arn't safe from him, with one falling off a cliff shortly after he climbs though it. Even ''ladders'' and lifts break down or are trashed around him. All this from an engineer/repair man who, you know, is supposed to 'fix' things.

* ''In VideoGame/DeadSpace3,'' the player character (Isaac Clarke) must fly a heavily damaged shuttle from the frigate ''Roanouke'' to the surface of Tau Volantis, dodging mines and debris all the way down. [[ForegoneConclusion Needless to say, you crash]], but only two {{Mauveshirt}}s die. Strangely, Ellie, the actual pilot, [[InformedAbility doesn't do any piloting]]. Before that another ship you're on gets trashed by mines before you can enter orbit, a car get blown up before you can get in it and many, many autonomous transport vehicles crash when he attempts to cross a free way. Later on even 300-year-old wrecked vehicles arn't safe from him, with one falling off a cliff shortly after he climbs though it. Even ''ladders'' and lifts break down or are trashed around him. All this from an engineer/repair man who, you know, is supposed to 'fix' things.

* Orks in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. Their aircraft have speedometers reading "stop", "fast", and "[[UpToEleven WAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!]]", going any slower than the last one (even when landing) is considered cowardice. They also have gears (any but the highest are unused even when "landing"[[note]]known to non-Orks as "crashing"[[/note]]) and brakes and a clutch (never used). Ork ground vehicle drivers tend to be less destructive ''only'' because they have to decide between being "crazed drivers" and "crazed gunmen" when crewing a tank. Factor in their starship pilots generally being crazed ram addicts, and Orks ''own'' this trope.

** The {{pegasus}} Rainbow Dash exhibits the non-vehicle version of this trope. Dash is a superb flyer; her landings, however, are sometimes far from graceful, as Twilight's library can attest. A lot of crashing is indicated to come from constantly attempting impossibly difficult stunts in an effort to impress the Wonderbolts. She also has a tendency to lose concentration or get distracted at critical moments (if she starts talking to someone while flying, it's a safe bet she's going to hit something in the next few seconds). Taken UpToEleven when she's afflicted by Poison Joke, which inverts her wings, leaving her crashing into things every few seconds, thrust-vectoring into the floor, and other such mishaps.

* In the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'', Charles is an excellent helicopter pilot... except for this idea he has that crashing his chopper into things is a great solution to any problem, generally resulting in YetAnotherStupidDeath for Henry. [[spoiler: It actually works once; during the Valiant Hero route of ''Completing the Mission''. Unfortunately, this ends up causing a series of events that indirectly lead to Charles' death.]]

** Although he's the best pilot in the Alliance, Joker also has a tendency to crash during the finales, although he manages to keep the Normandy salvageable. In Mass Effect 2 it opens with the first Normandy getting shot down with him at the controls. During the finale he also crashes the second Normandy getting you into the Collector Base, but he also gets it up and running again in time for the dramatic escape sequences. At the very end of the third game, the Normandy crashes again, but that's less to do with his piloting than [[spoiler: the giant energy wave from the Crucible.]]

* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': Leon is this to RunningGag levels. If he gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, ten-to-one says he's gonna crash it or it'll end up destroyed pretty soon. Actually lampshaded by Ada in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 4]]'', where she immediately recognizes a busted bulldozer as "Leon's handiwork." [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] to some extent, as typically when he's driving said vehicle there are monsters attacking and trying to eat him; ''anyone'' would have a hard time concentrating under such conditions, but one would expect he'd get enough practice to eventually learn how to drive safely in a crisis, or at least look in the back seat. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' takes this to a new extreme, as ''every'' single mode of transportation Leon takes over the course of the game crashes, even when he wasn't the one driving. He manages to be involved in a car, bus, plane, helicopter, ''and'' train crash over the course of the game.

*** Considering the time and effort it takes to accurately chart shoals, shallows, reefs, rocks, and other underwater obstructions, without modern sounding equipment I think you can safely give him a pass on all of them.

** {{Lampshaded}} in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'', when Launchpad confesses that his flying lessons were a [[IncrediblyLamePun crash course]]. He later manages to crash a ''camel''.

* Lampshaded in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. [=DS9=]'s shuttles are named after Earth Rivers, and one time when Sisko is asked to name a newly arrived replacement runabout shuttle, Major Kira quips "Hope we don't run out of shuttles before the Earth runs out of rivers."

* In the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'', Charles is an excellent helicopter pilot... except for this idea he has that crashing his chopper into things is a great solution to any problem, generally resulting in YetAnotherStupidDeath for Henry. [[spoiler: It actually works once; during the Valiant Hero route of ''Completing the Mission''. Unfortunately, this ends up causing a series of events that indirectly get Charles killed.]]

Everyone's encountered or at least heard of this character. They're the [[TheRedBaron Patrician of Demolition]], the Czar of "Fubar", and the [[RhymesOnADime Master of Disaster]].

* UsefulNotes/FormulaOne driver Pastor Maldonado gained this reputation. He's been involved in multiple crashes and incidents since 2011, prompting fans of the sport to call him [[FanNickname Crashtor Maldonado]].

* In the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'', Charles is an excellent helicopter pilot... except for this idea he has that crashing his chopper into things is a great solution to any problem, generally resulting in YetAnotherStupidDeath for Henry. [[spoiler: It actually works once- during the Valiant Hero route of ''Completing the Mission''.]]

Sometimes the crashes are not their fault; [[BornUnlucky they just seem to attract bad luck]]. Still, with all the crashes they've been in, it's a wonder anyone trusts them to drive or that their [[IThoughtItWasForbidden license hasn't been revoked]]. Their insurance rates are probably through the roof. Is often depicted as InnocentlyInsensitive or a NightmareFuelStationAttendant, if not an out-and-out {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. "Crash course" puns are [[ObligatoryJoke obligatory]].

They're supposedly an accomplished captain/pilot/driver, but whenever they get behind the controls of any vehicle, they crash it. Even if tey're in the desert with nothing to crash ''into'', they'll somehow find a way. To their credit, having a reputation for crashing repeatedly means their crashes are, at the very least, survivable, so they do have that going for them.

* Cpt. Hans Ulrich Lutz, Swiss aviator with the Crossair airline, worked as a pilot-in-command and a training pilot, even though his competences were somewhat slim: flying a Saab 340, he failed an upgrade exam to MD-80 eight consecutive times; he crashed an aircraft [[EpicFail while sitting on the tarmac]] (he tried to retract the gear to show the student that it is impossible on the ground due to pressure sensors in the landing gear, but on this particular aircraft, these sensors were temporarily disabled and he simply retracted the gear, resulting in a Saab 340 write-off); once, he almost landed in Italy instead of Switzerland due to navigational errors; and once, he almost flew his aircraft into a lake, confusing it with a runway. Sadly, on 24 November 2001, Crossair Flight 3597 crashed into a hill on final approach due to his major error (he descended well below the minimum safety altitude in heavy snowfall and borderline visibility), claiming the lives of 24 of 33 people on board.

* Cpt. Hans Ulrich Lutz, Swiss aviator with the Crossair airline, worked as a pilot-in-command and a training pilot, even though his competences were somewhat slim: flying a Saab 340, he failed an upgrade exam to MD-80 eight consecutive times; he crashed an aircraft while sitting on the tarmac (he tried to retract the gear to show the student that it is impossible on the ground due to pressure sensors in the landing gear, but on this particular aircraft, these sensors were temporarily disabled and he simply retracted the gear, resulting in a Saab 340 write-off); once, he almost landed in Italy instead of Switzerland due to navigational errors; and once, he almost flew his aircraft into a lake, confusing it with a runway. Sadly, on 24 November 2001, Crossair Flight 3597 crashed into a hill on final approach due to his major error (he descended well below the minimum safety altitude in heavy snowfall and borderline visibility), claiming the lives of 24 of 33 people on board.

Everyone's encountered or at least heard of this fellow. He's the [[TheRedBaron Patrician of Demolition]], the Czar of "Fubar", and the [[RhymesOnADime Master of Disaster]].

He's supposedly an accomplished captain/pilot/driver, but whenever he gets behind the controls of any vehicle, he crashes it. Even if he's in the desert with nothing to crash ''into'', he'll somehow find a way. To his credit, having a reputation for crashing repeatedly means his crashes are, at the very least, survivable, so he does have that going for him.

Sometimes the crashes are not his fault; [[BornUnlucky he just seems to attract bad luck]]. Still, with all the crashes he's been in, it's a wonder anyone trusts him to drive or his [[IThoughtItWasForbidden license hasn't been revoked]]. His insurance rates are probably through the roof. Is often depicted as InnocentlyInsensitive or a NightmareFuelStationAttendant, if not an out-and-out {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. "Crash course" puns are [[ObligatoryJoke obligatory]].

This trope can be convenient for characters hiring or having a pilot - no one else wanted Captain Crash, so he was available.

* Long before Launchpad, there was the [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines Vulture Squadron]]. Even boarding their planes, they're as good as grounded.

* Killboy from ''ComicBook/DeffSkwadron''. A ''deliberate'' example, since his entire flying style is founded on RammingAlwaysWorks.

* Sigurd Harcourt in ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}} is an AcePilot subversion - his piloting skills and intellect are top-notch, but his craft almost always end up crashed anyway due to surrounding combat, his passengers, or the need to use the ship as a last-ditch combat strategy.

* Adol Christin of the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series doesn't have the best luck with seagoing vessels. He doesn't get into a shipwreck every single time, but it's happened often enough to become something of a running gag.