AOPA’S AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE RELEASES NEW ACCIDENT CASE STUDY: RISK STACKING

The latest video in the series, Accident Case Study: Risk Stacking, recreates the events that led a Cessna 208 Caravan to crash on final approach into Burley Municipal Airport in Idaho. The accident happened on the pilot’s second attempt to fly the RNAV GPS approach to Runway 20.

“We look at several risk factors, including weather conditions and a factory’s steam stacks located below the flight path, close to the runway threshold,” said ASI Senior Vice President Richards McSpadden.

McSpadden continued, “One risk element by itself may not be dangerous, but when we stack risks they may be impossible to overcome during a demanding approach like this one.”

“One takeaway from this tragedy must be that we learn strategies to identify our accumulating risks in the moment and develop methods to recognize when the stack gets too precarious and it’s time to exit,” McSpadden concluded.

Accident Case Studies use FAA air traffic control radio communication transcripts, National Transportation Safety Board documentation, and video animation to recreate the dynamics, and track each accident’s chain of events. The videos share critical lessons to help pilots recognize and avoid similar mistakes.

View the accident case study.