Tag Archives: FAA

AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT TOTALS DROP TO HISTORIC LOWS

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT TOTALS DROP TO HISTORIC LOWS

EAA safety efforts contribute to steady decline while flight hours increase

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — (November 16, 2017) — Fatal accidents in experimental category aircraft, particularly amateur-built aircraft, continued their decline during the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2017 fiscal year that ended September 30, falling to historic lows.

For the 12-month period from October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2017, fatal accident totals in amateur-built aircraft were down 18 percent to just 27, compared with 33 during the 2016 fiscal year. That continues a four-year trend that has seen a total drop of 47 percent in fatal accidents, despite an increasing amount of flight hours each year over that period. The specific totals compare to 40 amateur-built aircraft fatal accidents during the 2015 fiscal year and 51 in the 2014 fiscal year.

In addition, fatal accident totals for the experimental category overall, including racing aircraft, those used for exhibit only, research-and-development, and some types of light-sport aircraft, dropped as well. Total fatal accidents fell from 49 to 45 during the 12-month measurement period ending September 30, 2017. The final figures are nearly 25 percent below the FAA’s “not-to-exceed” goal of 59 fatal accidents for that period.

“These are historic lows for fatal accident in amateur-built aircraft and this continuing trend is a credit to everyone who is focusing on safety,” said Sean Elliott, vice president of Advocacy and Safety for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), who highlighted these figures at the FAA General Aviation Safety Summit in late October. “The overall fatal accident numbers remain much lower than other recreational pursuits, such as paddle sports, skiing and snowboarding, and driving all-terrain vehicles. Statistics even show that being involved in a fatal amateur-built aircraft accident is less likely than being killed in a lightning strike incident.”

EAA has worked closely with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board on recommendations to reduce fatal accidents, including through participation in the FAA General Aviation Joint Steering Committee that EAA co-chairs. The EAA focus has also included the Founder’s Innovation Prize competition that seeks innovations to reduce loss-of-control accidents in amateur-built aircraft; a focus on transition and recurrent training; and use of an additional safety pilot during initial flight testing in amateur-built aircraft.

“These efforts build upon EAA’s longstanding Technical Counselor and Flight Advisor programs, and additional safety materials available through EAA’s flagship Sport Aviation magazine,” Elliott said. “Further reducing the accident totals is a continuing challenge, but one that is foremost as part of EAA’s mission to grow participation in aviation.”

About EAA

EAA embodies the spirit of aviation through the world’s most engaged community of aviation enthusiasts. EAA’s 200,000 members and 1,000 local chapters enjoy the fun and camaraderie of sharing their passion for flying, building and restoring recreational aircraft. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or go to www.eaa.org. For continual news updates, connect with www.twitter.com/EAA.

EAA-2017-45, For more information, contact: Dick Knapinski, EAA Communications, (920) 426-6523  dknapinski@eaa.org

 

Using the FAA B4UFLY drone app

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Using the FAA B4UFLY drone app.

First off, if you are not using the FAA B4UFLY drone app (https://www.faa.gov/uas/b4ufly/) on your smart phone or tablet, go download it. I understand that the app is not definitive answer to where you can fly, but it is a nice way to get a quick reference.

A friend of ours asked if we could take aerial video of a small gathering of people she is organizing. Since we do not have our 333 Exemption yet (should be soon…), we can’t do anything for hire but thought it would be a great way to get more experience.

In our case I entered the address of the field our friend wanted the video taken and let the system pick out the location and overlaid the nearest airports.  In this case we were outside the five-mile radius for a commercial airport but inside the five miles for a small private field, although, that small field doesn’t exist anymore. So the data might be a bit behind, but at least it reminded us where we should be concerned.

FYI, I looked at a couple other airports that I knew were gone and they were still on the map, so it is important to know your area. Don’t rely just on this application.

The next step was to get permission from the facility owner and potentially the city.  I called the city and they informed me that they are relatively unprepared for drone activity, but they have attended a few conventions and training programs where drones have been discussed. At this time the city has a few model aircraft rules in place which will cover the operation of drones for the time being.  Those rules do not allow models on public city land or parks.

But since we were flying on private ground we would need to talk to the owners. Will let you know how the whole thing goes, weather permitting.

Take a look at the screen short for the B4UFLY app. The purple pin is where the address put us compared the two airports. Kind of cool