Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/90184
News From HQ EAA Safety Efforts Noted in GAO's GA Report The General Accounting Office (GAO) recognized EAA's safety programs as key contributors in improv- ing GA safety, particularly for experimental amateur- built aircraft. The GAO released its report "General Aviation Safety: Additional FAA Efforts Could Help Identify and Mitigate Safety Risks," which the agency compiled at the re- quest of members of Congress. The study looked at all segments of the GA community and interviewed those in both government agencies and organizations within the GA community. The GAO interviewed EAA repre- sentatives twice during the study period. The report found that GA accidents have decreased over the past 20 years, but it also found major dif- ferences between the types of aircraft that make up the GA community. As EAA has maintained, the cur- rent method of accounting for safety based on flight hours skews the data in favor of those operations that fly straight and level for hours at a time with only one takeoff and landing. For example, corporate operations differ greatly from the multiple takeoffs and landings that may take place during an hour of recreational flying, therefore creating very differ- ent operational profiles and safety scenarios for the measurement of accidents when solely accounting for flight hours. EAA was recognized by the GAO as one of the organi- zations that "actively promote the importance of safety and, in many cases, offer educational opportunities to pilots." The report also noted that "EAA offers advi- sory programs for experimental aircraft builders and pilots" as a way of promoting a safety culture and continuous education among its members. "The GAO report states a number of areas that parallel EAA's recommendations for additional safety educa- tion, including improvement of GA flight-hour statistics gathering and use of the General Aviation Joint Steer- ing Committee," said Sean Elliott, EAA's vice president of advocacy and safety. "The GAO recommendations regarding amateur-built aircraft mirror the recent NTSB report for that same category, which gives the community a real opportunity to emphasize that ad- ditional education, not regulations, will make the real difference in improving GA safety." The report noted that the FAA has undertaken a five- year GA safety strategy, but developed that strategy without major input from GA stakeholders, such as those on the GA Joint Steering Committee (GA-JSC). The GA-JSC was re-formed in 2011 and has been studying accident factors with a view toward ad- dressing some of those risks through additional safety education. EAA is an active member of that committee and its working group studying fatal accidents caused by loss of control. The GAO also recommended several other actions to the FAA, including expanding data available on root causes of accidents, setting specific GA safety im- provement goals through a data-driven risk manage- ment approach, and developing performance mea- sures for the agency's safety programs and activities. 8 NO. 3/NOVEMBER 2012