One of AOPA's premier member benefits is the team of dedicated pilots and instructors who interact one-on-one with members. Together, they own 11 aircraft and have more than 53,000 hours accumulated over 321 years in aviation. Any member can reach the specialists by calling 800/USA-AOPA (872-2672), or through AOPA's World Wide Web site (www.aopa.org).
What pilot doesn't like to tell others about the glories of learning to fly? AOPA's aviation specialists can help you to be more effective in getting that message across, and we have answers to most aeronautical questions as well.
Has a nonpilot friend ever said to you, "I want to learn to fly, but my husband is absolutely convinced that all private pilots will eventually crash and burn"? I can provide information about what really causes most fatal accidents involving private pilots and offer flying techniques that can be practiced to help avoid them. Pilot proficiency improves safety greatly-especially when judgement comes into play.
The 1995 fatal accident rate for general aviation is just 1.51 per 100,000 flight hours, down from 11.9 in 1938. Statistics for recent years, including a comparison of aviation safety with safety in other modes of transportation, are on the AOPA Fact Card, published in the April Pilot, and available via AOPA Online.
GA accident rates have always been higher than those of the airlines, partly because of GA's versatility. Less regulation offers cost-effective access to thousands of smaller airports where airlines can't go. Also, the definition of GA includes aerial application, law enforcement flights, and banner towing-all relatively high-risk operations.
To say that "flying is much safer than driving" is popular at cocktail parties, but the AOPA Air Safety Foundation says that it's difficult to draw such a simple comparison. Transportation profiles, measurements, and operating environments are significantly different.
Although statistically weak because of the apples-and-oranges comparison, you could say that highway vehicles typically have seven times more accidents per mile than GA airplanes but that those same GA airplanes had seven times as many fatal accidents per mile. The 1995 fatal GA accident rate per million miles was 0.119. By comparison, the 1994 fatal accident rate for automobiles is much less, at 0.016 per million miles.
In 1995, there was a total of 155 fatal accidents in single-engine, fixed-gear GA airplanes. More than half were blamed on just two causes: maneuvering flight and weather. Maneuvering flight includes legitimate low-and-slow activities, but most of the accidents involved buzzing or impromptu low-level aerobatics. In the words of ASF, "Many involved a degree of recklessness that makes it difficult to consider them accidents."
Weather accidents account for about a quarter of the remaining fatal accidents and typically involve a VFR pilot's flying into instrument conditions, becoming disoriented, and crashing. Basically, if you resolve not to "push the weather," you're unlikely to have a weather accident.
The remaining accident causes are mostly proficiency-related: takeoff stalls, bad approaches, and truly bad landings. If you exercise good common sense while flying, avoid pushing weather, and stay proficient, your chances of being involved in a fatal accident are pretty slim.
Has a coworker with an interest in flying ever cornered you and asked you how much it really costs to learn to fly and whether he or she really has the "right stuff" for getting a pilot certificate?
All AOPA aviation specialists have been through the same training process your friend is contemplating, and they can offer solid advice to quiet fears or suggest ways to make training a pleasurable experience.
AOPA also encourages members to identify and mentor any friend or coworker who would benefit from becoming a pilot. As part of AOPA Project Pilot, your friend will receive a thick packet of encouragement and practical advice on learning to fly. Call me at the Pilot Information Center for more information.
Other AOPA resources include:
Pilot Information Center for expert help and advice for pilots, from pilots; call 800/USA-AOPA (800/872-2672).
AOPA Online on the World Wide Web (www.aopa.org) is a bright, colorful avenue to many of the services that AOPA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation offer.
AOPA and Air Safety Foundation booklets are also available, some free and others for a nominal shipping and handling charge, by calling the Pilot Information Center.
AOPA Aviation Specialist Kitty Pultorak, 53, joined the AOPA staff in March 1995. A 500-hour private pilot, she holds instrument and seaplane ratings and owns a 1971 Cessna 172.
Related Articles
