Dirty Little Secret

Published by: michael leighton on 10th Apr 2010 | View all blogs by michael leighton

Aviations Dirty Little Secret-
By Michael Leighton

Last week, I watched as an RV-6, one of the most popular homebuilts ever designed, crashed on takeoff from my home field. The engine quit at an estimated altitude of just over 200 feet AGL, and the aircraft spun into the lake at the end of the runway. The pilot, a well liked and experience aviator, did not survive. That was the second fatal accident and the third serious accident of an experimential aircraft based at my little airport since the beginning of the year.
The dirty little seceret of general aviation is that experimental aircraft have a disporportionately higer fatal accident rate then the rest of the G.A. fleet. Further, they display a disproportiionately higher percentage of accidents attirbuted to mechnical failure, 28% , with more than 9% attributed to "unknown" causes. These are not my numbers, they are published by the EAA. AOPA publishes the NALL report, another telling document that echos these findings. NTSB's accident file database carries detailed accounts of many of these accidents.
The insurance companies are keenly aware of this. The F.A.A. has recently announced a study due to concern about handling characterisitics of homebuilt aircraft ( read experimental aircraft).  What no one has asked, or answered is why?
Are the handling qualities really the issue? Or is it the nature of the homebuilt aircraft? More emphysis on construction, less on flight?
While I have flown many types of homebuilts, and even owned one, I am not in that world. I want to hear from those who are.
Is this a flight training issue or an aircraft design issue?

Comments

3 Comments

  • Robert Brown
    by Robert Brown 1 year ago
    Mr Lieghton, Keep your opinion to your self. You must be one of the self described elete that has money and would like to see the expiremental aircraft banished from the sky. Not everybody is rich and cant afford the type of expensive aircraft being built today. Some day you may be one of the average Joes like the ones you look downon.
  • Lynn Erickson
    by Lynn Erickson 1 year ago
    Thank you Mr. Leighton for asking that question. I am very interested in homebuilt aircraft and would like to, some day, build an airplane. It is especially appropriate that you have asked for input from those within the homebuilt community, as opposed to relying on a government study. However, when I see a response such as Mr. Brown's, who seems to be from that group, I seriously wonder if I should.
  • michael leighton
    by michael leighton 1 year ago
    I can understand someones passion. Some folks ride motorcycles without helmets. It is legal in most states. There is irrefutable evidence that this is danegerous yet people do it every day. I for one happen to love the experimental aircraft movement. Been an EAA member all my adult life. I have flown expermental aircraft and I understand the attraction. No, I am not rich and do not wish them banished from the sky but Iam keenly aware that all of GA is painted with the same brush. THe general public mmakes no disticntion between experimental aircraft and factory built general aviation airplanes. I've built one myself. In the end, I could have bought an aircraft for about the same money. True, I would not have had th pleasure of creating it with my own hands. For that, there is something to be said. But the facts are the facts. Denial of the risk doesn't make it go away. For many years it didn't matter because the experimental market made up such a small percentage of the total aircraft population that it drew little attention. But in recent years, the percentage of excperimentals in relation to the total fleet has increased, causing both the insurnace industry and now the FAA to start asking questions. It is not my opinion. These are published facts from reputable aviation advocacy groups. To retain the privilage of being able to build and fly your own aircraft, the industry and the partticipants need to take a look at the root causes of the disproprtionate accident rate and address it. If not, the F.A.A. can and may just make it all go away. With some luck, cooler heads then Mr. Brown's will prevail and change will be affected. In the mean time, my question still stands. Why? Are the aircraft the issue or is it the pilots who fly them?
    I'd like to know.
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