Flight instructor: Panic to blame in most crashes

While air travel is a routine part of their personal or professional life for many, the recent plane crash that killed a local business owner — and nine other incidents involving aircraft over Amarillo in the last five years — bring attention to what factors contribute to their safety in the skies.

Shortly after takeoff on July 25, Ben Harned IV, 53, experienced trouble with one of the engines in his Piper PA-30, and attempted to return to Tradewind Airport.

“The pilot radioed that he was having problems with the airplane’s left engine and that he was going to return to the airport,” the report said. “The controller asked if he wanted to declare an emergency, and the pilot responded that he had the airport in sight and the left engine stopped. The controller followed the airplane on radar until it disappeared from the radar screen.”

Five minutes after take-off, the plane crashed nose-first in the 2100 block of South Mirror Street, clipping a mobile home on the way down and killing Harned, who owned Performance Motors of Amarillo, but lived in Tyler.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, three of the 10 incidents, including Harned’s crash, were fatal, while the remaining seven reports were a result of hard or forced landings or small mechanical problems.

Josh Collier, a flight instructor and owner of Coyote Flight Centers in Amarillo, said fatalities can be avoided in most cases “if a pilot just remembers to fly the plane.”

“If you look in the NTSB database, you will see that with the majority of accidents, the reports show that the pilot lost control of the airplane, Collier said.

“That simply means that the pilot allowed the situation and circumstances to dictate the outcome instead of controlling their actions and guiding the situation.”

Collier said he and his instructors stress safety to their students above anything else. Along with in-flight training, they offer courses in aeronautical decision making, airports and operational and flight safety.

“We teach our students at Coyote to pay attention. We want them to think ahead and in doing so, they never create situations they can’t get out of,” he said. “We drill certain ideas into their heads, like ‘just fly the airplane,’ because if you remember to do that, you have a three out of four chance of surviving a plane crash.”

But safety doesn’t end and begin with the pilot. Airports are essential in aiding pilots with air traffic, weather conditions and landing safety.

“There are standards that pilots are aware of when coming into our airport,” Tradewind Airport Manager Tom Spanel said. “Although pilots aren’t required to talk to our airport when landing, we are there to help in any way when an emergency arises. Once a pilot lets us know they need our help, we can clear air traffic and help guide them into a landing.”

In May, the Federal Aviation Administration published research findings from a study conducted on reducing general aviation accidents. The leading cause for fatal plane crashes was loss of control inflight.

“However, the general aviation fatal accident rate appears to have remained relatively static based on the FAA’s flight-hours estimates,” the report said.

The NTSB reported a total of 494 fatal aviation accidents in 2011 compared to 32,367 motor accidents in the same year. Statistically speaking, flying is safer then ground transportation.

Hayden Hutchens, a commercial pilot who received his license from Coyote, agreed. “I feel the aviation community is completely safe. You only hear about the big crashes, because they are so rare. I feel much more safe flying than I do driving, because of all the safety measures put into place.”