- There are approximately 300,000 private pilots and 80,000 aircraft in Europe excluding those aircraft exempted from the scope of the Basic Regulation by its Annex II. This only represents 25% of the General Aviation aircraft registered in the United States, which have has a lower population and comparable size and economy. Moreover, there is a continuous a decline in the traditional European General Aviation sector that is not mirrored on the American side. There is however a notable exception to this decline in Member States (e.g. Czech Republic, France) where the micro-light industry, subject to an extremely simplified regulatory regime, is a vibrant developing activity with a significant exporting potential. The same could be said of the gliding activity in Germany, where the regulatory regime departs significantly from the full brunt of JAA rules.
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- This confirms the finding that main causes of accident are related to human factors, in particular linked with an insufficient training. Any new concept should therefore concentrate more on training/licensing standards than on airworthiness or operational aspects.
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- Incapacitation due to medical causes appears to be a marginal risk. The impact to non-involved third parties is known to be statistically insignificant11.
Refreshing stuff to come out of EASA! An awful lot of the old axe grinders won't like it. I am doing my response today.