Human factors in General Aviation:
FAA and ASF efforts to mitigate accidents and fatalities
Joseph N.D. Dodoo
Department of Natural Sciences
University of Maryland Eastern Shore,
Princess Anne, MD 21853
Ibibia K. Dabipi ,Christopher Hartman,
James B. Burrows-McElwain
Department of Engineering and Aviation Science,
University of Maryland Eastern Shore,
Princess Anne, MD 21853

Work made possible by grant from CIBAC in supportof Aeronautics research at NASA, Langley, VA
The 2nd ENRI International Workshop on ATM/CNS

EIWAC 2010 , Tokyo, Japan November 10 – 12, 2010

The annual U.S. aviation accidents and incidentsdata shows that General Aviation (GA) is
responsible for the greater majority of these
accidents and incidents.
Fatality is even greater when compared on thebasis of carrying capacity, with CommercialAviation.

Number of US Aircraft

Source: U.S. Dept. of Transportation
Research and Innovative Technology Administration

We analyzed accident data for the period fromJan. 2004 – Dec. 2009

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
accident database has the following format :Preliminary: A very brief description with occasional errors and generally
limited data. Usually available within 2 weeks.
Factual: A more detailed report with the facts: generally about 6 months.

Final: Complete report with probable cause assigned at 9-24 months.

Case 1: January 01, 2004; Glasgow, MT

Loss of aircraft control resulting in an in-flight
collision with terrain. Factors include marginal
weather and dark night conditions

Case 2: March 27, 2005; West Union, IA

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff, his failure
to maintain adequate airspeed during thetakeoff, and the pull-up to avoid obstacles which
resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors
associated with the accident were the pilot's
failure to maintain directional control of theairplane, the fence, and the tree line.

Case 3: June 08, 2006; Provo , UT

Case 4: November 08, 2007; Las Vegas, NV

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate terrain
clearance/altitude during climb to cruise. Contributing
to the accident were rising mountainous terrain, thedark nighttime lighting condition, the pilot's loss ofsituational awareness, and the Federal Aviation
Administration controller's failure to issue a terrainrelated safety alert.

Case 5: June 20, 2008; Lake Placid , FL

The pilot’s performance of anonstandard abrupt maneuver at low
altitude, which resulted in a loss ofaircraft control.

Case 6: February 05, 2009; Avalon, CA

A review of FAA airman records revealed that the 48-year-old pilot held a private
pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane.
He had a second-class medical certificate issued on August 14, 2008. It had thelimitations that the pilot must wear corrective lenses.

Family members provided the Safety Board investigator with pilot logbook excerpts
from November 23, 2007, to October 4, 2008. An examination of these excerpts
indicated an estimated total flight time of 376 hours. Actual instrument time was
14.1 hours, and simulated instrument time was 50.2 hours. The pilot completed
the Beechcraft Pilot Proficiency Program in October 2006.

Table 1 General Aviation monthly accident/incident (AI) andfatality (F) numbers from 2004 to 2009

Fig. 1 The six-year total accident/incident (AI) and fatality (F) show
increasing numbers in the months from May through August. December of2008 and 2009 both show fewer accidents and fatalities.

PROGRAM AIMED AT REDUCING ACCIDENTS

Pilot Proficiency Program

WINGS

WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program
The objective of the WINGS program is to address the primary
accident causal factors that continue to plague the generalaviation community.
Goal: To reduce the number of accidents seen each year forthe same causes.
The WINGS - Pilot Proficiency Program is based on thepremise that pilots who maintain currency and proficiency inthe basics of flight will enjoy a safer and more stress-freeflying experience.
Requirements for each aircraft category and class include
specific subjects and flight maneuvers.

Typical Example of Training schedule andcredit methodology

www.faa.gov/mywingFig. 1 The six-year total accident/incident (AI) and fatality (F) show
increasing numbers in the months from May through August. December of2008 and 2009 both show fewer accidents and fatalities.

Summary
While no one is showing complacency, it must be said thatthe reduction in the number of accidents and associatedlow fatalities indicates that the efforts by the FAA and also
the ASF are beginning to achieve the desired effects. In anideal world it would be nice to have zero accidents andnaturally zero fatality. As we live in a real world all we canexpect is for the number to continue to drop. While thelast two years in the study period show promising drop in
the number of accidents and fatality, it will require a few
more years of continuous reduction to claim success. In
any case it would appear that FAA and ASF efforts areproducing positive results

Thank You