General aviation gets a bum rap in a nationwide investigative series on small-aircraft and helicopter crashes, according to some Southwest Floridians who are active in noncommercial flying.
"The guy writing the story is biased. General aviation is safe. The industry is well-regulated," said Edd Switlik, owner of Switlik Aviation Maintenance based at Page Field in Fort Myers.
The articles by USA Today investigative reporter Thomas Frank began publication Wednesday and concludes today on B1 of The News-Press, which is a sister paper of USA Today, also owned by Gannett Co. Inc. Among other things the stories allege coverups by manufacturers; poor investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board; and lax oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The series also says too many crashes are attributed to pilot error and that aviation manufacturers have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements of crash-related civil lawsuits that need not be disclosed to federal regulators.
Mark Twombly is a Sanibel resident who works part-time as a pilot for various private businesses and also writes for aviation publications. Twombly said the articles had some good points, adding he thinks they overstated the risk from private aircraft using parts whose designs are outdated.
"Most people will read a little bit of (the series) and say 'I'll never get into general aviation because it's unsafe and unregulated.' That's completely untrue," Twombly said.
The NTSB database shows six general aviation aircraft crashes — none with fatalities — around Fort Myers between January 2009 and June 2014. Two reports listed no probable cause; the others described some form of pilot error.
For the same time period, the Naples area had eight incidents, all nonfatal and each attributed to some aspect of pilot error, from failure to maintain aircraft to improper landing technique, according to NTSB reports.
Go a little further back, though, and the region has sustained aviation fatalities. Among them:
• In November 2007, 51-year-old pilot Dale Shallbetter, of Boca Raton, died when his Mooney M20J plunged into a wooded area on the west end of Southwest Florida International Airport. No one else was aboard. The NTSB report found no mechanical or flight control anomalies, noted poor visibility, but reached no conclusion as to the crash's cause.
• In December 2002, Laurence and Nina Casey, of St. Joseph, Mo., died when their Raytheon 58 twin-engine aircraft crashed into a pair of homes in the Cross Creek subdivision in south Fort Myers. One of the homes was occupied, but no one inside was hurt. The NTSB also attributed this crash to pilot error.
• The Aug. 17, 2009, crash into waters near Upper Captiva by a Lee County emergency services helicopter also got a lot of attention locally. All three occupants escaped, but the $5 million aircraft was damaged beyond repair. In so many words, the NTSB listed pilot error as the probable cause.
Since 2000, there have been two fatal incidents around Naples Municipal Airport. In 2002, three people were killed during takeoff. It was later determined the pilot had elevated levels of allergy medication in his system.
Another pilot was killed in 2005 after he flew into a thunderstorm over Naples. The NTSB determined the crash was caused by the pilot's inability to maintain control during the storm.
And, in 2003, a couple sued Cessna and several Naples-based aircraft companies for product liability after the plane they rented crashed on takeoff in Sebring, according to online Collier County court records and NTSB reports. No one died. The NTSB report cited pilot error, but the parties settled out of court in 2006 for an undisclosed sum.
Richard Gentil, owner of Naples Air Center, an aircraft services company that offers training and maintenance, discounted the USA Today articles' allegations concerning aviation manufacturers.
"We've never had a problem with these companies. If we notice something is wrong we tell them and they issue a recall," Gentil said.
On its website, the national Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association cried foul over the articles.
"General aviation is enveloped by a robust safety system that is more extensive than any other recreational activity in the United States. This system addresses everything from aircraft certification to pilot training, aircraft maintenance and flight operations. This results in a general aviation system that provides for 21 million flight hours annually while carrying 170 million passengers per year safely and efficiently," the AOPA said.
"In comparison to other forms of recreational transportation, the annual number of fatalities for general aviation is about 30 percent fewer of that of the recreational boating industry, and not even 10 percent of motorcycles," the AOPA added.
Retired physical therapist Ellen Herr lives in Fort Myers and has been a private pilot for 35 years. She and former Lee County resident Terry Carbonell are in Pennsylvania awaiting results from their cross-country flight in the 2014 Air Race Classic.
Herr thinks the articles used a "broad brush that seems to paint a large segment of general aviation as incredibly dangerous. I do not believe that is true."
"General aviation aircraft each receive at least an annual (and sometime more frequent) inspection," Herr said. "Defects are required to be repaired before (the aircraft) can be turned to service. Florida has no auto inspection program. Many older cars of questionable safety are on the roads."
Twombly noted the NTSB doesn't have the financial resources to send an investigative team to every crash and that a cost-benefit analysis "is done in every industry before improvements are made.
Flying comes with the possibility of "unforgiving consequences," Twombly added. He particularly objected to the word "carnage" in a headline on the USA Today online story package.
"There is nothing like carnage around the Fort Myers area," Twombly said. "And this is a popular place to fly."
Story and photos: http://www.news-press.com
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