Fly Safe: Prevent Loss of Control accidents

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and general aviation (GA) community’s national #FlySafe campaign aims to educate GA pilots on the best practices to calculate and predict aircraft performan

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and general aviation (GA) community’s national #FlySafe campaign aims to educate GA pilots on the best practices to calculate and predict aircraft performance and to operate within established aircraft limitations.

Message from FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta:

The FAA and industry are working together to prevent Loss of Control (LOC) accidents and save lives. You can help make a difference by joining our #Fly Safe campaign. Each month on FAA.gov, we’re providing pilots with a Loss of Control solution developed by a team of experts. They have studied the data and developed solutions – some of which are already reducing risk. We hope you will join us in this effort and spread the word. Follow #FlySafe on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I know that we can reduce these accidents by working together as a community.


Safety Enhancements: Preventing Loss of Control

This month, we’re focused on personal minimums and how to integrate these important safety measures into your flight planning.

Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) is a critical element in flight safety. It covers every task you perform, from preflight to securing your aircraft after flight. It helps you and your passengers reach your destination safely.

Personal minimums are the pilot’s set of procedures, rules, criteria, and guidelines that help the pilot, decide whether, and under what conditions, to operate (or continue operating) in the National Airspace System. Simply put, they are the minimum conditions you need for safe flight. They’re personal because they pertain to YOU!

Take the time to develop your personal minimums and please consider:

• Have you developed or recently reviewed your personal minimums? If not, you should consider doing so before your next flight. A Certificated Flight Instructor can provide guidance and help you perform a more accurate self-assessment of your flying.
• Once you’ve developed your personal minimums, write them down and keep them in a place where you can easily refer to them.
• Refer to personal minimums often! It may save your life!

Before Flight: What Should I Consider?

Combined with ADM, personal minimums help you evaluate your risks before you begin your flight. Consider using the PAVE acronym to further develop your risk mitigation strategies: Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, and External Pressures.

Here are just a few of the PAVE questions you should ask yourself:

Pilot

• Am I feeling well and rested today?
• Is my stress level such that I can devote all my attention and energy to completing this flight safely?
• Are my piloting skills equal to the flight I am thinking of taking?
• Am I current and proficient in the aircraft I’ll be flying today?
• Have I had transition training in this aircraft?

Aircraft

• Is the aircraft I’ll be flying capable and equipped to complete this trip?
• Does the maintenance history indicate the aircraft is airworthy?
• Does my preflight inspection find no problems with the aircraft?
• Is there enough fuel onboard?

environment

• Can both the aircraft and I fly in the expected weather conditions?
• Are alternative airports available?

External Pressures

• Does this flight have to be completed today?
• Are peers or passengers pressuring me to fly?
• Do I have commitments after the flight that I think I must meet?
• Do I feel pressured or rushed to get to my destination?

What about the Weather?

When we look at the environmental aspect of the risk equation, weather is naturally a big factor. It’s easy to detect the weather in your immediate area but what if you are taking a longer-than-local flight?

Fortunately, there’s a lot of weather information available near cities and towns that have airports. However, if the area is remote – like some places in Alaska – weather information is much harder to come by. To help fill that gap, the FAA developed a weather camera program in Alaska that provides real-time weather information that you can access on your computer or smartphone.

The Alaska weather camera program is being updated to include a website redesign and mobile apps for IOS and Android platforms. Plans are also underway to expand the program to the rest of the nation later this year, so stay tuned. As weather cams do become available, work them into your preflight planning and personal minimum checklists.

What is Loss of Control?

A LOC accident involves an unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight. LOC can happen because the aircraft enters a flight regime that is outside its normal flight envelope and may quickly develop into a stall or spin. It can introduce an element of surprise for the pilot.

Contributing factors may include:

• Poor judgment or aeronautical decision making
• Failure to recognize an aerodynamic stall or spin and execute corrective action
• Intentional failure to comply with regulations
• Failure to maintain airspeed
• Failure to follow procedure
• Pilot inexperience and proficiency
• Use of prohibited or over-the-counter drugs, illegal drugs, or alcohol

Did you know?

In 2015, 384 people died in 238 general aviation accidents.
• Loss of Control was the number one cause of these accidents.
• Loss of Control happens in all phases of flight. It can happen anywhere and at any time.
• There is one fatal accident involving Loss of Control every four days.

Fly Safe: Prevent Loss Of Control accidents

WASHINGTON, DC – The FAA and general aviation (GA) groups’ #Fly Safe national safety campaign aims to educate the GA community on how to prevent Loss of Control (LOC) accidents this flying season.

WASHINGTON, DC – The FAA and general aviation (GA) groups’ #Fly Safe national safety campaign aims to educate the GA community on how to prevent Loss of Control (LOC) accidents this flying season.

What is Loss of Control (LOC)?

A Loss of Control (LOC) accident involves an unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight. LOC can happen because the aircraft enters a flight regime that is outside its normal flight envelope and may quickly develop into a stall or spin. It can introduce an element of surprise for the pilot. Contributing factors may include: poor judgment/aeronautical decision making, failure to recognize an aerodynamic stall or spin and execute corrective action, intentional regulatory non-compliance, low pilot time in aircraft make and model, lack of piloting ability, failure to maintain airspeed, failure to follow procedure, pilot inexperience and proficiency, or the use of over-the-counter drugs that impact pilot performance.

Did you know?

• Approximately 450 people are killed each year in GA accidents.

• Loss of Control is the number one cause of these accidents.

• Loss of Control happens in all phases of flight. It can happen anywhere and at any time.

• There is one fatal accident involving LOC every four days.

Message from FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker:

The FAA and industry are working together to prevent Loss of Control accidents and save lives. You can help make a difference by joining our Fly Safe campaign! Each month on faa.gov we’re providing pilots with a Loss of Control solution developed by the team of experts. They have studied the data and developed solutions – some of which are already reducing risk. We hope you will join us in this effort, and spread the word. Follow #FlySafe on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I know that we can reduce these accidents by working together as a community.

Managing Unexpected Events

What is an unexpected event?

Unexpected events – especially those occurring close to the ground – require rapid appropriate action. However, humans are subject to a “startle response” when faced with an unexpected emergency situation and may delay or initiate inappropriate action in response to an emergency. Examples of situations which can catch a pilot by surprise:

• partial or full loss of engine power after takeoff

• landing gear fails to retract after takeoff, or fails to extend when ready to land

• bird strike

• control problems or failures

Did you know?

Fatal general aviation accidents often result from inappropriate responses to unexpected events. Loss of aircraft control is a common factor in accidents that would have been survivable if control had been maintained throughout the emergency. In some cases, pilot skill and knowledge have not been developed to prepare for the emergency. In other cases, an initial inappropriate reaction begins a chain of events that leads to an accident.

Unexpected events often happen close to the ground or during a transition from one configuration or phase of flight to another. There may be no time to use a checklist. A pilot has a much better chance of success if he or she thinks about the abnormal event ahead of time. Practice and preparation can improve a pilot’s reaction time.

What can GA pilots do to best manage an unexpected event?
Don’t let an unexpected event become an unexpected emergency! Training and preparation can help pilots manage the startle response and effectively cope with an unexpected event.

Tips for pilots

• Think about abnormal events ahead of time! Practice your plan! Brief your plan prior to takeoff, even when flying solo!

• Have a Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) join you to train and plan for emergencies

• Review emergency procedures for your aircraft on a regular basis – don’t wait until you need a Flight Review

• Sit in your aircraft or a properly equipped Aviation Training Device and practice abnormal and emergency procedures, touch the controls, and visualize your aircraft’s cockpit

• Review and practice “what if” scenarios

• Vocalize takeoff, approach, and landing expectations:
aircraft configuration, airspeed, altitude and route emergency options

• Sign up for the WINGS Pilot Proficiency program and have your hours with the CFI count toward a WINGS level

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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