Tragic plane crashes like the one that claimed eight lives aboard a charter Cessna in remote western Alaska expose the limits of federal aviation bureaucracy, which piles on mandates yet cannot conquer the risks of America's frontier. Private operators serving isolated regions face these dangers daily, and the incident underscores how distant regulators in Washington too often prioritize control over practical solutions that respect local knowledge. It matters because it fuels calls for still more top-down rules that threaten the very charter services Alaskans depend on. The Constitution confines federal power to enumerated functions like interstate commerce, leaving states and individuals to handle unique geographic challenges through federalism rather than uniform edicts from the FAA. Limited government preserves the liberty of pilots and entrepreneurs to innovate and bear responsibility in free markets, instead of pretending centralized oversight can eliminate every hazard. Self-reliance, not endless regulation, remains the only honest approach to life on the edge.