I just received the latest issue of Plane & Pilot magazine and found it was filled with a lot of fascinating articles this time around (Cubs on the cover again!). This time, Pilot gave readers an update on Light Sport Aircraft accidents based on 3 years of data. Lots of interesting data, but some we knew all along. Hereâs just a samplinâ
[The following information is from Mike Adams, VP of Avemco]
- Avemco has lost money on LSA insurance since inception and expects that trend to continue for another 1-2 years.
- Accident-wise, how well are LSA pilots stacking up against general aviation pilots? The answer is: Not so Well. The loss in tricycle gear LSA is twice as bad as the GA fleet. Compared to Cessna 152s, 172s, Cherokees, Grummans and so on, S-LSA has the potential for an accident twice as often as a GA plane. Furthermore, tailwheel S-LSA models have a frequency of loss 4.5 times as bad as their GA counterparts! (Nickâs thoughts: nothing new here, taildraggers are a bit more difficult to handle and fly)
- Pilot experience is the major culprit: If you conclude that new, low-time sport pilots are the ones whanging in on a regular basis, conclude again. Itâs exactly the opposite: High-time pilots are the ones bending the birds out there.
- In studying Avemco accident claims, we began to suspect dealer checkout flights werenât thorough enough. We found the majority were landing accidents and the common theme being pilot error. Weâve had S-LSA destroyed on landing by a 500, 1,100, and up to 4,400hr pilots. Most accidents occurred within 10 hours of dealer checkout in the airplane. It seems new owners were too often receiving only perfunctory checkouts. Theyâd fly with the instructor for an hour or two, display general competency, then the checkout instructor would release the airplane.
- The more experience new owners have, the less they tend to view LSA as anything more than smaller, simpler versions of the big iron theyâve flown for years.
- "GA airplanes are not light-sport airplanes!"
- One LSA instructor âclaims itâs easier to train someone to be a sport pilot who doesnât have any flight experience, rather than to transition experienced GA pilots. She believes veteran pilots have prejudices about how an airplane should fly, and the motor skills theyâve learned to apply to certain situations in those types of aircraft donât always work in an LSA.â
- Europe hasnât experienced the same accident ratio between GA and LSA flight. Mike Adams says, âI think itâs because a majority of their pilots have lots of microlight flying experience. We believe pilots who go from lighter to heavier aircraft have easier transisitions than the other way around.â (Nickâs thoughts: Germans started off with glider training before powered aircraft during WWIIâwere the better pilots, imho).
Lots of other details in the story. Buy it if you want to read the rest. Now, what are yaâlls thoughts on this? Is this really anything new?
[The following information is from Mike Adams, VP of Avemco]
- Avemco has lost money on LSA insurance since inception and expects that trend to continue for another 1-2 years.
- Accident-wise, how well are LSA pilots stacking up against general aviation pilots? The answer is: Not so Well. The loss in tricycle gear LSA is twice as bad as the GA fleet. Compared to Cessna 152s, 172s, Cherokees, Grummans and so on, S-LSA has the potential for an accident twice as often as a GA plane. Furthermore, tailwheel S-LSA models have a frequency of loss 4.5 times as bad as their GA counterparts! (Nickâs thoughts: nothing new here, taildraggers are a bit more difficult to handle and fly)
- Pilot experience is the major culprit: If you conclude that new, low-time sport pilots are the ones whanging in on a regular basis, conclude again. Itâs exactly the opposite: High-time pilots are the ones bending the birds out there.
- In studying Avemco accident claims, we began to suspect dealer checkout flights werenât thorough enough. We found the majority were landing accidents and the common theme being pilot error. Weâve had S-LSA destroyed on landing by a 500, 1,100, and up to 4,400hr pilots. Most accidents occurred within 10 hours of dealer checkout in the airplane. It seems new owners were too often receiving only perfunctory checkouts. Theyâd fly with the instructor for an hour or two, display general competency, then the checkout instructor would release the airplane.
- The more experience new owners have, the less they tend to view LSA as anything more than smaller, simpler versions of the big iron theyâve flown for years.
- "GA airplanes are not light-sport airplanes!"
- One LSA instructor âclaims itâs easier to train someone to be a sport pilot who doesnât have any flight experience, rather than to transition experienced GA pilots. She believes veteran pilots have prejudices about how an airplane should fly, and the motor skills theyâve learned to apply to certain situations in those types of aircraft donât always work in an LSA.â
- Europe hasnât experienced the same accident ratio between GA and LSA flight. Mike Adams says, âI think itâs because a majority of their pilots have lots of microlight flying experience. We believe pilots who go from lighter to heavier aircraft have easier transisitions than the other way around.â (Nickâs thoughts: Germans started off with glider training before powered aircraft during WWIIâwere the better pilots, imho).
Lots of other details in the story. Buy it if you want to read the rest. Now, what are yaâlls thoughts on this? Is this really anything new?
