Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Taking a closer look at airplane safety. Cessna 421C Golden Eagle, N421SY. Joe Foss Field Airport (KFSD), Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Dec 13, 2011 6:14 PM EST
By Jake Iversen

There seems to be a growing belief that small planes are risky and that cars are much more reliable. But flight instructor John Schreurs says when it comes to his safety, the choice is an easy one.

"If I was flying this aircraft I'd feel safer flying this than driving a car on the streets." Said Schreurs.

Like driving a car, skill all depends on a person's amount of practice and their judgement.

Statistics can be used to support either side but there are specific risks with each vehicle.

John says that any pilot will tell you that the most critical time of any flight is landing and takeoff.

"Altitude is your best friend basically, if you would go into a roll or a spin there's not much time to recover, at higher altitudes those situations are easier to recover from." Said Schreurs.

But even the most skilled pilot cannot anticipate engine failures or other critical problems, they just have to rely on their training and instincts.

John says pilots are taught to land straight ahead if they have an engine failure because without power handling is decreased.

"The tendency is if you lose an engine is to turn around and try to come back to the runway, that's never a good idea, I've heard of a lot of accidents that have occurred trying that." Said Schreurs.

What led up to Friday's fatal crash is still a mystery.

Pilot Brian Blake flew with several local pilots including John, who says he not only lost a friend but one of the most experienced pilots in the state and it is definitely hard on everyone.

"The aviation community is very small and I'd put Brian at the top of a short list of excellent pilots in this area... He will be missed." Said Schreurs.

Here's some interesting information we found regarding small airplane crashes.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, last year the NTSB investigated 1435 accidents. Of those crashes, 267 were fatal, killing 450 people.

While those numbers seem high of all the general aviation flights last year only 6.86% ended in a crash and only 1.27% of flights resulted with a fatality.

Ideally you'd like to see that at zero percent but that is a very low number. 

By Jake Iversen
http://www.ksfy.com
IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 421SY        Make/Model: C421      Description: 421, Golden Eagle
  Date: 12/09/2011     Time: 2025

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: SIOUX FALLS   State: SD   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE 4 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY 
  INJURED, 1 MILE FROM THE AIRPORT, SIOUX FALLS, SD

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   4
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   3     Fat:   3     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    

WEATHER: WIND 300 AT 11 VSBY 10 CLR 

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Take-off      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: RAPID CITY, SD  (GL27)                Entry date: 12/12/2011 

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