ACCIDENT ANALYSIS
Concerns have grown over the high number of stall/spin accidents during the high-power, high-AOA phase of flight.
Loss of Control in Flight (LOC-I)
LOC-I is the number one risk during flight training, accounting for 155 fatal accidents. Of these, 89 accidents occurred in the 2000s and 66 in the 2010s. Loss of control events were primarily stall/spin accidents, or Vmc rolls (loss of control in a twin-engine airplane with asymmetric power at low speeds). Other LOC-I accidents include loss of control for other reasons such as spatial disorientation and structural limitation exceedance.
The phase of flight with the most frequent fatal loss of control accidents is takeoff/climb/go-around, accounting for 48 of the 155 accidents (31 percent), or an average of 2.4 fatal instructional training accidents every single year.
Concerns have grown over the high number of stall/spin accidents during the high-power, high-AOA phase of flight, which increased from 23 accidents in the 2000s to 25 accidents during the 2010s. While these accidents include a variety of potential contributing factors, the commonality is a failure to properly manage angle of attack during takeoff, climbout, and go-around events.
Maneuvering, the second largest phase within loss of control, accounted for 45 fatal accidents. The decrease in maneuvering fatalities from the 2000s to the 2010s was the largest driver of improvement within the LOC-I accident rate as a whole. This may support the FAA’s decision to improve stall horn awareness by changing the slow flight maneuver in the airman certification standards (ACS).
Emergency procedures formed the third phase and include both simulated emergencies and actual emergencies. This category increased from 10 fatal accidents in the 2000s to 16 in the 2010s.
Midair Collision (MAC)
MAC was the second leading cause of fatal instructional accidents from 2000 to 2019, with 27 training flights involved in 23 midair collisions. Seventy percent (19 flights) occurred outside the airport environment, compared to traditional GA where 51 percent occur outside the airport environment. Of the fatal accidents that occurred in the airport environment, five occurred in Class D airspace and three were at nontowered airports. Maneuvering and en route phases of flight led midair collision locations with 11 and nine, respectively, approach (4) was third, followed by climb (2) and takeoff (1).
Midair collision was the category with the most dramatic difference between the two decades studied, accounting for 21 fatal accidents from 2000 to 2009, but only six from 2010 to 2019.
An interesting observation regarding training collisions outside of the airport environment is that the vast majority occurred at VFR or IFR cruising altitudes.
Midair collision was the category with the most dramatic difference between the two decades studied, accounting for 21 fatal accidents from 2000 to 2009, but only six from 2010 to 2019. One factor that could explain this decrease is the increased use of traffic awareness technologies, including TIS and ADS-B. The FAA’s emphasis on operating with lights on below 10,000 feet agl as well as technological advancements in the visibility of LED recognition lights may also have played a role. Other mitigations include deconflicting practice areas, the use of ATC flight following service, and emphasizing the fundamental principles of see and avoid.
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)
CFIT was the third leading cause of fatal instructional accidents in this study. There was a slight decrease in the number of CFIT accidents from 11 in the 2000s to eight in the 2010s. Reduced visibility continues to play a role in most of the CFIT accidents with 13 of the 19 accidents occurring in night and/or IMC conditions. CFIT accidents largely occurred during maneuvering (9), followed by enroute (4) and approach (4). Two CFIT accidents occurred on missed approaches highlighting the need to properly execute these sections of approaches.
It is worth noting that there is some overlap between the categories of CFIT and Unintended Flight in IMC (UIMC).
It is worth noting that there is some overlap between the categories of CFIT and Unintended Flight in IMC (UIMC), and there were several accidents that met the criteria for both categories.2 Of the combined CFIT and UIMC accidents, five involved improper instrument procedures with an instructor onboard, four involved dual flights encountering IMC unexpectedly, and four involved solo students encountering IMC unexpectedly. Of the CFIT accidents in visual conditions, the most common subcategories were loss of terrain awareness at night (four accidents), practicing simulated engine outs during the day (three accidents), and possible spatial disorientation (two accidents).
Fuel Related (FUEL)
Fuel-related accidents were the fourth leading cause of fatal instructional accidents. Fuel accidents have seen a slow reduction as flight schools integrate more technically advanced aircraft (TAA). The low-fuel crew alerting system (CAS) seems to have been effective in reducing instances of fuel exhaustion and starvation. An interesting change in the data is that the four examples of fuel starvation in the 2000s all involved a failure to switch tanks, whereas the three examples of fuel starvation in the 2010s involved the fuel selector being OFF3 or in an intermediate position (not in any detent).
System Component Failure-Powerplant (SCF-PP)
SCF-PP accounted for the fifth most frequent category of fatal accidents with 14 fatal accidents over 20 years. Seven of these were attributed to improper maintenance, but there was no consistent maintenance error among these events: Two engines failed after a failure to clean the oil screen, one after a fuel filter was installed backwards, one due to a carburetor’s missing cotter pin, one due to improper thru-bolt tension, one due to metal shavings left after tapping a fuel manifold, and one due to poor magneto installation. Additionally, two engines failed suddenly: one due to an exhaust valve failure and one due to a sheared (corroded) mixture cable. Thankfully, the rate of fatal engine failure events has decreased over the last two decades.
Intentionally Low Altitude Maneuvering (LALT)
LALT was the sixth largest accident category. In the last two decades, four crews crashed during mountain flying lessons, three during attempted canyon escapes, two during aerial application training, two impacted power lines, and two crashed after aggressive maneuvering.
2 The CAST/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team (CICTT) usage notes changed in 2021, allowing for UIMC accidents to be categorized in cases where the pilot is instrument rated. If applied retroactively to this dataset, two of the CFIT accidents—one from each decade—could have been moved into the UIMC category. For the sake of consistency with the prior report, the authors chose to retain the original categorizations.
3 The only FUEL accident in a technically advance aircraft (TAA) was a multi-engine airplane that took off with one of the fuel selectors in the OFF position.
LOSS OF control in flight
Early Analysis: Training Accident Newport News Airport
On October 6, 2022, a Cessna 172 crashed during a training flight at the Newport News–Williamsburg International Airport (KPHF) in Newport News, Virginia. No one on the ground was injured. Sadly, the certificated flight instructor died in the accident. A student pilot and another student onboard the Cessna were taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
The Cessna 172 took off from Runway 20. At 100 feet—about 80 seconds into the takeoff—the aircraft reportedly pitched up aggressively, lost lift, and crashed 200 feet from the departure end.
LOSS OF control in flight
Accident Case Study
(NTSB Accident Report ERA18FA141)
A stall/spin accident on climbout in 2018.
“The pilot and flight instructor were conducting a flight review…. Shortly after takeoff…a witness reported that the airplane ‘suddenly went nose down.’ The airplane impacted a row of trees on the edge of a field in a near-vertical nose down attitude…. The airplane had likely exceeded its critical angle of attack, resulting in an aerodynamic stall from which the pilot was unable to recover.”
Probable Cause
“The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during climbout, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall from which the pilot could not recover.”
MIDAIR COLLISION
Early Analysis: Midair at Lake Hartridge
On March 7, 2023, a Piper Warrior and a Piper J-3 Cub on floats collided over Lake Hartridge, just east of Winter Haven Regional Airport in Winter Haven, Florida. Sadly, all four people on board the airplanes perished in the accident. The AOPA Air Safety Institute gives an early look into the factors surrounding the crash and addresses notable portions of the flight and highlights areas the NTSB will likely probe.
INTENTIONALLY LOW ALTITUDE MANEUVERING
Accident Case Study: Everyone’s Problem
Join us as we take a look a look at a flight training accident that killed a flight instructor and two students on November 15, 2007, in Texas.