The #FlySafe Campaign’s Latest: Preventing Loss of Control Accidents
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is giving GA pilots safety advice every single month. This month, its focus is weather analysis and loss of control accidents.
Not surprisingly, mastery of GA piloting requires continual training and experience. The #FlySafe series is helping pilots stay safe while operating aircrafts. August’s focus? Evaluating weather reports.
Most GA piloting fatalities are a result of loss of control (LOC) accidents. According to the FAA, a LOC accident occurs when the aircraft enters a flight regime that is outside its normal flight envelop and quickly starts spinning or stalling – often surprising the pilot. Unfortunately for GA fatalities, over half involve stall or spin scenarios.
To help pilots avoid the dangerous LOC stall or spin, the FAA outlines three main pieces of advice: Use Plenty of Weather Sources, Study and Evaluate, and Question.
Use Plenty of Weather Sources to give yourself more than enough information before taking off. You can never have enough weather reports to aid in your decision-making, and your interpretation and operational decisions rest heavily on these sources.
Study and Evaluate weather reports after you have acquired them. Weather theory and use of weather products in aviation are major facets of preparedness and piloting, and it takes continuous study to develop weather evaluation skills. Make sure you are trained to evaluate your weather reports.
Question the ways in which the weather will affect your flight plan, your operational products, and your route. After all, operating aircrafts is a high-risk activity, and all outside factors should be considered including estimations, pilot-aircraft team, and other strategies.
For more advice on how to avoid LOC accidents, interpret weather, and stay safe in the aircraft, visit the
FAA website and
#FlySafe’s August article.