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The Human Factor: Teaching the Big Push

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • General aviation safety efforts face challenges in reaching most pilots and effectively addressing persistent human factors that cause accidents.
  • A significant number of fatal accidents result from pilots attempting to turn back to the airport after an engine failure shortly after takeoff, a maneuver most pilots are unprepared for.
  • This "turnaround" maneuver is extremely difficult, requiring precise control, aggressive pitch changes, steep turns at low altitude, and is often unsuccessful.
  • The author proposes that flight instructors integrate practicing this engine-failure turnaround maneuver at a safe altitude into pilot training and biennial flight reviews to better prepare pilots and reduce fatal accident rates.
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Recently I received notification of an event I couldn’t pass up — a “General Aviation Accident Reduction and Mitigation Symposium,” sponsored by the Arizona Pilot’s Association (APA) and the Arizona Safety Advisory Group (ASAG), which links many of the aviation groups in Arizona in the quest to reduce accidents, and especially fatal accidents, in the state. The FAA Arizona FAASTeam representative would also participate.

The message stated that the speakers would address the fatal accidents that occurred in Arizona in 2012, and those present would then “work toward strategies and tactics to reduce the accident rate in 2013.” Questions and comments were solicited during and after each section, and the attendees were challenged to come up with specific actions that could reduce the number of accidents in the future.

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