Originally Posted by
abgd
Ditto. The Kitfox/Cessna 177 accident is the last one I can think of. En-route midairs cause a very small proportion of aviation fatalities. I share the concern re. the risks to GA if someone were to bring down an airliner but mid-air collisions with other small aircraft are fairly low on my list of concerns - well below the weather, carb-icing and all of that.
As I said earlier, imminent (mid-air) collisions are thankfully very rare but the results are almost always fatal, unlike many other incidents involving light aircraft.
Since I fly a Kitfox, it was probably the Kitfox/Cessna 177 accident that concentrated my mind on this issue, plus a few close encounters of my own. I think that most GA pilots who have done a reasonable number of hours in uncontrolled airspace will, if pressed, admit that they have come too close for comfort to another aircraft which they did not spot until very late.
And of course, you do not see the one that hits you!
I hate to say this but I came to the conclusion some time ago that "see and be seen" is largely a myth. Because of the natural limitations of the eye, the main reason that there are so few mid-air collisions is because the air is such a big place and there are, relatively, so few aircraft flying in it.
Electronic warning systems have been available for many years (what happened to the strobe detection system being trialled some years ago?) but have not been widely adopted in GA. I think it is about time we got our act together.