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Stack the Odds in Your Favor

by Crista Worthy

In our last issue, we addressed Risk Management and Aeronautical Decision Making. Aviation safety is a topic that deserves no shortage of attention. We all want to fly safely; yet NTSB records reveal the same stubborn problems each year. While it’s true some aircraft accidents are caused by mechanical failures, pilot incapacitation, and the ever-mysterious “unknown causes,” the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s “Joseph T. Nall Report” reveals that nearly three-quarters of accidents are “pilot-related.” The report points out that most of these pilot-related accidents are the result of specific failures of flight-planning, decision making, or the typical hazards one encounters in the high-risk phases of flight, such as taking off, landing, low-level maneuvering, descent, and approach. It goes on to explain that fuel mismanagement and weather-related accidents generally give pilots advance warning and so “…can be considered failures of advanced planning or in-flight decision-making. Takeoff and landing accidents…tend to happen very quickly, focusing attention on the pilot’s airmanship (though the decision-making that leads airmanship to be tested can usually be called into question).”

What can you do to reduce the stubbornly high, non-commercial GA accident rate? It’s especially difficult to practice in the air when fuel prices and a lousy economy make it harder to fill your fuel tanks. Stack the odds in your favor with a pair of programs that are easy on your budget and good ways to keep your head in the game when the weather outside is too cruddy for flying anyway: the FAA’s WINGS program, and the monthly “Callback” from NASA.

A lot of pilots like to badmouth the FAA, but they’ve done some things right, one of which is the FAA WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program. WINGS was reinvented in 2007 with two major changes: It was moved from a paper-based program administered by local FSDOs to an automated program administered nationally at www.FAASafety.gov. The basis was also changed from an award based on time involvement to a proficiency based on a demonstration of pilot knowledge and skills.

Visit www.pglinks.net/WINGS to read a report that reaches some enlightening conclusions after a presentation of three years of Part 91 accident rates, from 2008–2010. Excluding charter and flight training accidents, the report examines a total of 3,654 accidents and reveals that only 25 of these involved pilots who had earned a phase of WINGS. Of these, only 12 were current with WINGS at the time of their accident; a miniscule 0.33%. Better yet, only one pilot out of 712 fatal accidents had a current phase of WINGS at the time of the accident, while only four had earned some phase of WINGS before their accidents. Furthermore, not a single IFR flight plan accident involved a pilot who had earned any phase of WINGS before the accident. At the time of the study, over 11,000 pilots had completed at least one phase of WINGS. Those odds are good enough for me; I’m going to get and stay current in WINGS.

Reviewing those 25 accidents involving pilots who had some phase of WINGS, one finds several takeoff or landing accidents by low-time tailwheel or seaplane pilots. Five involved preventable engine failures caused by fuel mismanagement, poor pre-flights, and carb icing. The report’s author, an FAA FAAST Team Manager, emphasizes the now-proven effectiveness of currency in WINGS, citing the principle of recency from the Laws of Learning in the “Aviation Instructor’s Handbook.” He also suggests that CFIs and DPEs should focus more on transition training and proper preflight planning, with an emphasis on performance and limitations (of both pilot and aircraft, I would add).

Finally, the report presents a chart showing how aircraft accidents peak in summer and recommends that pilots exercise special care at the start of the flying season and into summer. The time to start is now; it’s not an exaggeration to say that participating in the WINGS program could save your life. WINGS can help keep your aviation knowledge current in the crucial areas of decision making, performance and limitations, preflight planning, risk management, and fuel management. WINGS ground courses are free and you’ll meet other pilots. Or you can take courses online at www.FAASafety.gov or at AOPA, www.AOPA.org/asf. When you fly, focus your training on basic flying skills, positive aircraft control, and takeoffs and landings. Many flight instructors volunteer their time at WINGS programs. Bring your plane or rent one and the instructor’s time toward the flight portion of WINGS is free.

With the space shuttles grounded forever, NASA has been criticized a lot lately. Still, many pilots have NASA to thank for the “get out of jail free” card they got when they filled out a NASA Aviation Safety Reporting Sytem (ASRS) form after making an aeronautical error, thereby avoiding a possible citation or other enforcement action. The logic behind the initial implementation of this program was that reports would become public while retaining the anonymity of the pilot. NASA has followed through on that promise and publishes a free monthly safety bulletin, “Callback.” A recent “Callback,” Issue 395, focuses on six events caused by jet blast (indeed, I’ve been blown off a runway myself by jet blast). You read the report, written in first person, learn from it, and hopefully avoid making that mistake yourself. Give “Callback” a try; it’s free and the monthly intervals won’t clog your inbox. Online ASRS Forms, links, and free “Callback” subscription are available at asrs.arc.nasa.gov.

The FAA and NASA truly want to improve aircraft and pilot safety. So be a proactive pilot and take advantage of what they offer. The FAA WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program has such an astounding success rate it seems foolish to ignore it. Think of it as the cheapest life insurance you’ll ever get. NASA “Callback” reports are candid, interesting to read, and provide much food for thought. Now you know how to improve your odds and keep from becoming another GA statistic.