Accident rate prompts CASA to target pilot training
Fri "The Australian"
Accident rate prompts CASA to target pilot training
By Geoffrey Thomas
April 02, 2004
AUSTRALIA'S Civil Aviation Safety Authority has declared a new focus on general aviation safety to try to arrest the alarming accident rate.
CASA will work with leaders in flying training to develop new plans to try to deliver the best possible flying instruction to students, from beginners to experienced pilots refreshing or upgrading their skills.
The commitment follows a study by CASA of fatal accidents in general aviation over a 10-year period. The study found that 43 per cent of accidents resulted from uncontrolled flights into terrain, while 32 per cent involved controlled flight into terrain.
Further analysis showed poor flight planning, aircraft handling problems and fuel starvation and exhaustion were the main causes of these general aviation accidents.
One or more of these factors contributed to nearly two-thirds of the 196 fatal general aviation accidents between 1991 and 2000.
CASA chief executive Bruce Byron said work needed to begin to find ways of addressing the causes of these accidents.
"A deficiency in flight planning was a factor in 38 per cent of these accidents, so we need to look for steps that can be taken to better equip pilots to get flight planning right," Mr Byron said. "Aircraft handling errors were evident in 30 per cent of the crashes, while fuel starvation and exhaustion were involved in 10 per cent of the fatal accidents.
"These are areas where pilot training can be used as a preventive weapon and CASA needs to find better methods of helping the industry deliver the most effective information and skills."
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