5 Ways to Crash an Airplane

Lately, the general aviation community has focused, quite correctly, on the very preventable loss-of-control in-flight type of accident (LOC-I). Too many people somehow manage to bend an airplane-or worse-each year basically because they forget to fly it. Its a broad category, and includes a mix of accident causes, from low-level maneuvering, to VFR-into-IMC and to multi-engine training operations. As complex and dynamic as the LOC-I category is, it most assuredly doesnt include the full range of things pilots do to make the accident reports. For example, a look at the other category of pilot-related accidents, as broken down by the AOPA Air Safety Institute (AOPA ASI) in its 25th Nall Report, highlights some other areas where pilots regularly make contributions to the aviation-accident records. Here are five of them, not related to LOC-I.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, January 30, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

General aviation pilots should continuously study accident reports, beyond just loss-of-control incidents, to understand and prevent a broader range of mishaps.
Common pilot-related accident causes include improper fuel management (planning, system knowledge, contamination) and inadequate preflight procedures or flight planning.
Other significant contributing factors to accidents include unsafe taxiing practices, failure to correctly use carburetor heat, and insufficient vigilance or use of technology to prevent mid-air collisions.

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Once a pilot commits to flying personal airplanes, whether for transportation or recreation—or both—studying how accidents and incidents occur should be part of their continuing education. A well-rounded pilot should know that studying accident reports to identify common mishaps and understand their lessons goes hand-in-hand with regular training, additional certificates and exposure to different flight operations when considering ways to manage the inherent risk.