Safe areas of general aviation

[TrafficInSight]

I've been in both worlds, and can say that I feel safer in the airline world then I do in the GA world. Statistics prove that. You get these weekend warriors that fly twice a year and are completely clueless once they get in the air. Very scary.

You make no sense.

I say go rent a 172... Cherokee... whatever... and depending on how long it's been, an instructor as well. Go shoot some landings, see a sunset, whatever. Get back into flying.

 

[LJDRVR]

You do what you can to mitigate the risk.

I'm in the process of puchasing a J-3. Although I've got hundreds of hours in this particular airplane, J-3's as a whole have a poor accident rate, especially in the fatalities per 100K hours flown.

So, I can sit on the sidlines, fly the Boeing for cash and miss out on enjoying many of the things that attracted me to flying in the first place. Or, I can (and have) purchase seat belts and shoulder harnesses that will be installed before I fly the Cub. I will also exercise extreme caution in the low speed area of the envelope when close to the ground, as that's where many Cub fatalities occur.

You're the PIC, you accept the amount of risk you're willing to based on your abilities, knowledge and the rewards.

I no longer fly single-engine night or IFR. And I used to.

Airline Pu**ies?

Whatever, buddy.

 

[QueensPilot]

"One of the major causes of GA accidents is running out of gas."

Really? Now where did you hear that? I thought running out of gas was a pretty rare(but inexcusable) reason for GA crashes. I read somewhere that it was one fuel exhaustion accident a month(that involved fatalities?).

What is the name of that report that comes out every year on GA accidents that would have more reliable info?

Avweb I have a ton of respect for your insights and experience. But what about a situation like the Ellmendorf(?) crash in Alaska, where four engines stop because of bird ingestion after takeoff? I can think of scenarious where the universe manifests things that are not in your control, at the worst possible time.

Of course, you may be ultimately right, just fly a small cub out of a flat strip somewhere on beautiful days and always have an out.

 

[say again]

You make no sense.

I say go rent a 172... Cherokee... whatever... and depending on how long it's been, an instructor as well. Go shoot some landings, see a sunset, whatever. Get back into flying.

I make plenty of sense!!!

 

[pilotyip]

"One of the major causes of GA accidents is running out of gas."

Not necessarily fatal, but go throught the NTSB data base there are a ton on SEL GA airplanes that go down due to fuel stravation, contaminated fuel, improper fuel, no fuel in the tank feeding the engine with the gas gauge selected to the full tank. My insite into this came from an GA Aviation Safety flyer I saw back in the 90's

 

[Rxflyer]

I think it's reasonable to say that anything fun entails risk. All you can do is train properly and approach every flight you take professionally. If the fear of something "bad" happening outweighs the enjoyment that flying brings you, then you will never be able to truly appreciate the freedom of flight. Airlines achieve their great safety numbers through rigid, standardized training and procedures. They don't get to stop by many pancake breakfast fly-ins, though.

There was a Neil Young song that included the lyric, "it's better to burn out, than it is to rust..". I think about that sometimes, when people ask me the question about flying being dangerous. Appreciate being able to fly ! It's supposed to be a gift, not a burden.

 

[LJDRVR]

"One of the major causes of GA accidents is running out of gas."

Really? Now where did you hear that? I thought running out of gas was a pretty rare(but inexcusable) reason for GA crashes.

No offense, but you thought wrong.

Go to NTSB.GOV and set up a search for accidents involving fuel exaustion. From 7-9-07 to 7-12-05, you'll find 74 accidents where fuel exaustion was the the probable cause. That works out to a little over three a month. Historically, this is low.

Spend a little time looking around the NTSB site at accdents in general. Although most people consider themselves talented pilots, youll be amazed at how many stupid and inventive ways we find to bend metal.

You're not one of those folks that tells his students that flying is safer than driving are you?