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General Aviation Accidents Related To Exceedance Of Airplane Weight/Center Of Gravity Limits, Douglas D. Boyd

Publications

Obesity, affects a third of the US population and its corollary occupant weight adversely impacts safe flight operations. Increased aircraft weight results in longer takeoff/landing distances, degraded climb gradients and airframe failure may occur in turbulence. In this study, the rate, temporal changes, and lethality of accidents in piston-powered, general aviation aircraft related to exceeding the maximum aircraft weight/center of gravity (CG) limits were determined.

Accident-Precipitating Factors For Crashes In Turbine-Powered General Aviation Aircraft, Douglas Boyd, Alan Stolzer

Publications

General aviation (14CFR Part 91) accounts for 83% of civil aviation fatalities. While much research has focused on accident causes/pilot demographics in this aviation sector, studies to identify factors leading up to the crash (accident-precipitating factors) are few. Such information could inform on pre-emptive remedial action. With this in mind and considering the paucity of research on turbine-powered aircraft accidents the study objectives were to identify accident-precipitating factors and determine if the accident rate has changed over time for such aircraft operating under 14CFR Part 91.

The NTSB Access database was queried for accidents in airplanes (

The “Checklist/Flight Manual …

Causes And Trends In Maintenance-Related Accidents In Faa-Certified Single Engine Piston Aircraft, Douglas Boyd, Alan Stolzer

Publications

The accident rate for general aviation remains high. While most general aviation accident studies have been pilot-focused, there is little research on the involvement of aircraft maintenance errors. We undertook a study to answer this question.

The Microsoft Access database was queried for accidents occurring between 1989 and 2013 involving single engine piston airplanes operating under 14CFR Part 91. Pearson Chi-Square, Fisher’s Exact Test, and Poisson probability were used in statistical analyses.

The rate of maintenance-related general aviation accidents was 4.3 per million flight hours for the 1989–1993 period and remained unchanged for the most recent period (2009–2013). Maintenance errors …

Causes And Trends In Maintenance-Related Accidents In Faa-Certified Single Engine Piston Aircraft, Douglas Boyd, A. Stolzer

Publications

The accident rate for general aviation remains high. While most general aviation accident studies have been pilot-focused, there is little research on the involvement of aircraft maintenance errors. We undertook a study to answer this question.

The Microsoft Access database was queried for accidents occurring between 1989 and 2013 involving single engine piston airplanes operating under 14CFR Part 91. Pearson Chi-Square, Fisher’s Exact Test, and Poisson probability were used in statistical analyses.

The rate of maintenance-related general aviation accidents was 4.3 per million flight hours for the 1989–1993 period and remained unchanged for the most recent period (2009–2013). Maintenance errors …

Beneath The Tip Of The Iceberg: A Human Factors Analysis Of General Aviation Accidents In Alaska Versus The Rest Of The United States, Cristy Detwiler, Carla Hackworth, Kali Holcomb, Albert Boquet, Elaine Pfleiderer, Douglas Wiegmann, Scott Shappell

Publications

Historically, general aviation (GA) accidents have been overlooked and their impact under-appreciated when compared with those in the commercial or military sector. Recently however, the Federal Aviation Administration and other governmental and civilian organizations have focused their attention on one piece of this proverbial “iceberg,” that being GA accidents occurring in Alaska. This study examines more than 17,000 GA accidents using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System. Comparisons of Alaska to the rest of the U.S. (RoUS) included traditional demographic and environmental variables, as well as the human errors committed by aircrews. Overall, categorical differences among unsafe acts (decision …

Human Error And General Aviation Accidents: A Comprehensive, Fine-Grained Analysis Using Hfacs, Douglas Wiegmann, Troy Faaborg, Albert Boquet, Cristy Detwiler, Kali Holcomb, Scott Shappell

Publications

The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a theoretically based tool for investigating and analyzing human error associated with accidents and incidents. Previous research performed at both the University of Illinois and the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute has successfully shown that HFACS can be reliably used to analyze the underlying human causes of both commercial and general aviation (GA) accidents. These analyses have helped identify general trends in the types of human factors issues and aircrew errors that have contributed to civil aviation accidents. The next step was to identify the exact nature of the human errors identified. …

A Human Error Analysis Of General Aviation Controlled Flight Into The Terrain Accidents Occurring Between 1990-1998, Scott A. Shappell, Douglas A. Wiegmann

Publications

Although all aviation accidents are of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), perhaps none is more disconcerting than those in which a fully functioning aircraft is inexplicably flown into the ground. Referred to as controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), these accidents continue to be a major safety concern within aviation, in particular general aviation (GA). A previous study as part of the FAA's Safer Skies agenda examined 165 CFIT accidents using root cause analysis and developed 55 interventions to address their causes. While the study represented the work and opinions of several experts in the FAA and industry, the …