Loss of Control

Loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) is the leading killer in GA, with more fatal accidents than the next six causes combined. The Colgan 3407 and Air France 447 crashes brought LOC-I to the forefront. Were forced to ask how we can lose control of perfectly good airplanes. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics identified LOC-I as the most significant cause of commercial aviation fatalities worldwide.

jmiller

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) is the leading cause of fatal accidents in General Aviation, primarily resulting from pilot-induced factors and preceding aircraft upsets where the plane unintentionally exceeds normal flight parameters.
Pilots can proactively prevent LOC-I by employing Flight Risk Assessment Tools (FRATs) for objective pre-flight decision-making and by implementing Threat and Error Management (TEM) systems, which utilize procedures, checklists, and sufficient time to identify and mitigate in-flight threats and errors.
Effective recovery from an aircraft upset requires extensive and varied practice of stall and unusual attitude recoveries to ensure automatic, instinctive responses, thereby mitigating the negative impacts of stress and the startle effect during emergencies.

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Loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) is the leading killer in GA, with more fatal accidents than the next six causes combined. The Colgan 3407 and Air France 447 crashes brought LOC-I to the forefront. We’re forced to ask how we can lose control of perfectly good airplanes. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics identified LOC-I as “the most significant cause of commercial aviation fatalities worldwide.”

General aviation statistics mirror the grim commercial numbers. Preventing LOC-I in GA has been one of the NTSB’s most wanted safety improvements for 2015. Last fall, the agency hosted a symposium to share information and explore ways to mitigate the risk.