ICON Aircraft has been a media darling since the project was first announced. Founded in 2006, the company set out to create a different kind of light sport aircraft (LSA)—an amphibian, with folding wings for ground transportation and storage, and interior styling by BMW DesignWorks and Nissan Design America—that would appeal to a broad section of the current aviation community as well as to that huge potential market of non-pilots. The marketing emphasis was on recreation and fun, not transportation.
But after two fatal accidents in 2017, it’s a good time to look at how the ICON A5’s safety record might play out. The human factors, training program, risk management approach and safety culture of A5 pilots are all likely to be key elements in the product’s success. In the meantime, these factors offer insights into similar general aviation safety issues.
