The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and general aviation (GA) group’s #FlySafe national safety campaign aims to educate the GA community on best practices in calculating and predicting aircraft performance, and on operating within established aircraft limitations.
What is Loss of Control?
A Loss of Control (LOC) accident involves an unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight. LOC can happen because the aircraft enters a flight regime that is outside its normal flight envelope and may quickly develop into a stall or spin. It can introduce an element of surprise for the pilot. Contributing factors may include: poor judgment/aeronautical decision making, failure to recognize an aerodynamic stall or spin and execute corrective action, intentional regulatory non-compliance, low pilot time in aircraft make and model, lack of piloting ability, failure to maintain airspeed, failure to follow procedure, pilot inexperience and proficiency, or the use of over-the-counter drugs that impact pilot performance.
Current Topic:
Investigations of General Aviation Loss of Control Accidents often cite failure to predict aircraft performance, and flight operations conducted outside of the aircraft’s established limitations.
Pilots can start by asking themselves:
- How much can I haul?
- How far can I go?
- How much fuel do I need? This includes weight of passengers, fuel and cargo. It also includes departure and arrival runway lengths, obstructions and expected density altitude.
- How do I plan? Start with your crew and passengers, and then add cargo. If these items alone exceed your plane’s capability, you’ll either have to make several trips, or get a bigger aircraft.
- You will also need to calculate how much fuel you can take, and whether you’ll have enough to get to your destination, plus an alternative.
- Finally, you’ll need to consider your departure and arrival runway lengths, obstructions and expected density altitude. Be conservative when calculating your plane’s performance, and consider adding a safety factor. Some pilots add 50% to their takeoff and landing calculations for safety.
What’s the greatest variable?
YOU, the pilot, are the greatest variable in this plan. All of your calculations will not mean much if you cannot duplicate them in flight. That’s why it’s important to document your performance capability at least once a year, with a CFI on board. Fly at a typical mission weight, and try to duplicate or simulate mission density altitudes. That way, you’ll know what you and your aircraft can do.
Establish a Baseline
In order to know what performance you and your plane are capable of, you’ll need to establish a baseline. Think of this baseline as a reference point that relates to your performance, and that of your aircraft, under a given set of circumstances on a given day.
High density altitudes and human factors, such as fatigue, will result in performance below the baseline. Proficiency training and lighter loading will likely result in performance that exceeds the baseline. The key point is that for any given flight, your baseline will determine what you need to know about how your aircraft will perform.
What are Limitations?
Limitations are derived from Physical Laws, including:
- Weight and Center of Gravity,
- Speed Limitations,
- Aerodynamic Loading for Normal, Utility and Aerobatic certification categories.
Many limitations are easy to exceed, so you must be careful to operate your aircraft within its limitations at all times.
Tips for pilots
There is no substitute for careful attention to your aircraft’s performance and limitations. Document your performance capability at least annually. Pay careful attention to weight and balance, conditions at your departure and arrival airports, and your expected density altitude. Know your aircraft’s limitations under all conditions, and never exceed them.
Message from FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker:
The FAA and industry are working together to prevent Loss of Control accidents and save lives. You can help make a difference by joining our Fly Safe campaign. Each month on FAA.gov, we’re providing pilots with a Loss of Control solution developed by a team of experts. They have studied the data and developed solutions – some of which are already reducing risk. We hope you will join us in this effort and spread the word. Follow #FlySafe on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I know that we can reduce these accidents by working together as a community.
Did you know?
- Last year, 384 people died in 238 general aviation accidents.
- Loss of Control is the number one cause of these accidents.
- Loss of Control happens in all phases of flight. It can happen anywhere and at any time.
- There is one fatal accident involving LOC every four days.
Learn more
The Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook (PDF) (Chapter 6, 7 and 8, Appendix A) (FAA-H-8083-1A), has several helpful charts and examples:
The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25A) – (Chapter 8), will help you establish your performance checklist:
The Alaska Off-airport OPS Guide provides a variety of operations and review guides:
The FAASafety.gov website has Notices, FAAST Blasts, online courses, webinars and more on key general aviation safety topics.
Check out the 2016 GA Safety Enhancements (SEs) fact sheets on the main FAA Safety Briefing website, including Flight Risk Assessment Tools.
Take time to read the May/June 2015 edition of FAA Safety Briefing dedicated to Aircraft Performance: https://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/2015/media/MayJun2015.pdf
The WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program helps pilots build an educational curriculum suitable for their unique flight requirements. It is based on the premise that pilots who maintain currency and proficiency in the basics of flight will enjoy a safer and more stress-free flying experience.
The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) is comprised of government and industry experts who work together to use data to identify risk, pinpoint trends through root cause analysis, and develop safety strategies to reduce the risk of accidents in GA.
An FAA fact sheet outlines GA safety improvements and initiatives.
The GAJSC combines the expertise of many key decision makers across different parts of the FAA, several government agencies, and stakeholder groups. The other federal agencies are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which participates as an observer. Industry participants include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, National Business Aviation Association, National Air Transportation Association, National Association of Flight Instructors, Society of Aviation and Flight Educators, and the aviation insurance industry. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also participates as an observer.
