Aircraft gear collapsed on landing and slid off runway.
Pine Butte LLC
Date: 16-MAY-22
Time: 16:35:00Z
Regis#: N210FK
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: P210
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: BOWIE
State: TEXAS
Unbelievable number of planes just veering off runways, hitting lights, landing with gear up, forgetting to add fuel, leaving filler caps off.........my god, has general aviation gotten so bad that it's akin to bumper cars on the runway? And if they do make it into the air.....seems like one out of ten fly it into the trees. Why would I ever want to be a passenger?
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction was "that's an incorrect statement". But I went to the USDOT web site, for your benefit, and reviewed general aviation accident data that's been collected since 1960. Accident rates were about 35 per 100,000 flight hours in the 1960s. The rates declined dramatically and are now, in the 21st century, about 5.5 per 100,000 flight hours. I think what has changed is the availability of information regarding GA accident. The InterWeb is an amazing creation. We're simply more aware of GA accidents.
DeleteSo true, 24,000 hours and was a passenger maybe 3 times when the pilot flying was not a professional pilot.
DeleteSome of the data is skewed by built in circumstances. This aircraft is a 1979 model, and although annual inspection should give assurance that the 43 year old complex mechanism is serviceable, zero degradation over the years isn't guaranteed. Look at the steady stream of Mooney gear collapses showing up on KR, for example.
DeleteVeer offs can happen to any aircraft, but many (Cirrus) are castering nose wheel tricycle gear aircraft requiring differential braking to steer below the point of rudder authority.
This age we are in of gadget-enthused and sometimes dependent pilots probably emboldens a few additional pilots by risking flying into IMC or threading between thunderstorms, some of which wouldn't be happening without those devices.
While it's true that we are more aware of GA accidents in the internet age, the trend toward lowered standards of qualification combined with poor focus and some believing that gadgetry overcomes lack of skill has to show up in accidents and incidents.
Air carriers are also at risk of high accident rates in the times ahead as meritocracy gets eliminated in favor of social promotion over demonstrated skill.