system

Stuff like this interests me so I took the time to comb through the reports.

I have no problem with absolute numbers … you can compare those stats year on year and side by side and know you’re comparing apples to apples. Any stats which are “rates” based upon "flight activity, however, I question. Based upon what valid data for flight hours are those numbers calculated? I have charts that show the amount of avgas produced is down by 1/3. The number of pilots are down, too. If the flight hours used for rates are erroneous (and I think they are?), the rates aren’t lower. The absolute numbers of accidents would – therefore – portend higher rates. Anyhow … a thought.

Also, the “good” news as far as absolute numbers of accidents are likely directly related to the number of years a pilot has been flying and his/her age. Maturity plays a large role in good aeronautical decision making. I can’t speak for others but I can surely speak for me on that subject. I kinda like living on the right side of the grass these days so I tend to be far more careful than when I was 10’ tall and bullet proof.

I did notice a couple of areas that caught my attention. In the area of fuel management, flight planning (having enough fuel for the task) was about equal with operating the fuel system itself. Given the recent “threat” of an expanded AD for PA28 fuel selector valve operation (dumb pilots finding ‘off’ in flight) suggest that increased emphasis on fully understanding and operating one’s fuel system needs attention (as opposed to making airplane owners pay for something they don’t need). And having a CFI or a second pilot on board isn’t necessarily helping the stats.

I also noted that Sport Pilots don’t appear to be crashing in droves. That’s good news. Given the FAA’s insane preoccupation with medical status, one woulda thunk that pilots with no medical would be falling out of the sky in large numbers. The “medical incapacitation” category portends otherwise … and we all already knew that.

Conspicuously absent from the data is the class or type of medical possessed by the accident pilots. As more than 50,000 pilots have now chosen to use BasicMed sans the traditional route, I see THAT as a statistic that ought to be analyzed as we move forward in time.

Finally, landing an airplane appears to be dangerous. We should work on that. Can’t wait until “autoland” becomes available for GA. Drones have ‘RTB’ … why shouldn’t GA? Garmin could put a green button next to the blue button. Push it and then just wait for the airplane to take you home. Why we could even tie fuel state to that function … no one would ever run out of fuel again. Then, the FAA could find something else to moan about. Just yesterday, I found a warning function in my new car (which scared me) that warned me that it was near freezing and the roads could be slippery. Automation … it’s a wonderful thing.