19. NTSB Safety Study Targets Experimental Aircraft

The NTSB put the experimental segment on its most needed improvements hit list, citing the poor safety record of homebuilts — they account for nearly a quarter of all U.S. GA fatal accidents and currently number more than 30,000 strong. The recommendations in essence call for changes to the way that homebuilts are certificated. The Board asked for better planning, data collection and implementation of homebuilt flight testing, as well as improved teamwork by industry insiders in making the segment safer. The NTSB’s recommendations were the result of the most exhaustive study of the safety of homebuilts ever conducted, with the organization looking at accident data and survey responses from thousands of pilots and working with the homebuilt community to study the issue

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