Pace asked:
Originally Posted by Pace
does the Cirrus with all the technology pilot aids and BRS lure pilots into situations they cannot handle?
I'm certain that some Cirrus pilots are lured into situations they cannot handle. But not many.
The number of Cirrus fatal accidents with low-time pilots (pilots with less than 200 hours total time) numbers only 5 out of 104 fatal accidents in 5,600 aircraft:
Park Falls, WI, USA -- during transition training with instructor impacted a river short of the runway, likely wind shear during a simulated engine out
Manhattan, NY, USA -- during a flightseeing tour of the East River with instructor, failed to maneuver in airspace only delimited by purple lines on a chart
Front Royal, VA, USA -- during a night departure when pilot took off on a runway noted as N/A for night operations, then got a terrain alert and overcontrolled the airplane
Cherbourg, France -- loss of control during night flight to Jersey
English Channel -- this accident, loss of control during maneuvering in reported fog and low ceilings mid-channel
So, some, but not many.
In two of them, there were instructors in the right seat. In the other three, one wonders what scenarios were used by their instructors to impart good understanding of their envelope of experience.
Certainly, the Cirrus standardized instructor pilot program (CSIP) emphasizes scenarios to promote better understanding of what pilots might be tempted to do on their own. Cirrus and COPA are both sensitive to and active about the lure of technology to pilots during transition and ab initio training.
Cheers
Rick