Avionics News April 2022 - 37

on board include single-pilot flights. " For example,
the table counted 441 private, 269 commercial, 121
ATPs, and 20 sport pilot certificate holders. It counts
250 CFIs on board, but like ATPs, CFIs must also
possess a commercial certificate and instrument rating,
and what's unclear is how this influences the count of
542 IFR pilots on board. Subtracting these pilots from
the IFR total suggests 152 of the private pilots were
instrument rated.
A staggering 817 non-commercial fixed-wing
accidents took place during day visual meteorological
conditions, with 109 of them fatal. Working down the
list, 66 were unknown conditions, 65 night VMC, 33
day IMC, and seven night IMC.
The report presents seven major types of accidents.
In number/fatal for 2019 there were 308/5 landing;
115/16 takeoff; 96/19 other; 58/8 fuel management;
35/20 maneuvering; 34/11 descent/approach; and 34/30
weather. Separate buttons deliver more details on each
major type of accident. Loss of control, which can
include stalls and spins, dominates the landing and
maneuvering categories, collision accounted for 18/2
descent/approach accidents, followed by 11/6 stall/spin,
and 4/3 deficient instrument approach procedures.
Customer relations
Beyond providing reliable, quality work, the
contribution to safety by avionics repair stations starts
with proactively urging their customers to keep their
various instrument approach and other databases up
to date. The decade-long downward trend of fuel
management accidents, 94/13 in 2010 and 58/8 in
2019, suggests the growing installations of engine
information systems and the pilot employment of
electronic flight bags because systems operation
and flight planning account for roughly half of these
accidents.
The factors behind the weather accidents may offer
more possibilities. The trend of these accidents is not so
clear, and the gap between the number of accidents and
how many of them were fatal is narrower, with 34/30
in 2019. The types of weather accidents are even more
grim. VFR into VMC dominates with 19/18, followed
by 6/6 for poor IFR technique, 4/2 for thunderstorm, 3/3
for icing, and 2/1 for turbulence. Single-engine aircraft
accounted for all but six of these accidents.
Pilots have been flying from visual into instrument
meteorological conditions for more than a century,
and as long as they have access to a stick, rudder and
throttle, they will continue to write the statistics for
which no pilot is immune. Technology may one day
prevent these accidents, but it is unlikely that people
will be able to control the aircraft or overrule the
artificial intelligence that guides it.
Until that time, avionics repair stations can continue
to promote the technology that will help pilots make
better preflight and in-flight decisions as well as
reducing their hands-on workload when conditions or
some situation becomes overwhelmingly challenging.
Keeping the Nall Report accident pilot profile in mind
seems prudent when discussing an avionics upgrade
with a pilot, perhaps guiding the conversation deeper
into the frequency and mission of the customer's
flying.
This may suggest technology, whatever it might be,
increases safety by contributing real-time information
and decreasing the hands-on workload so pilots can
make better informed decisions.
But access to this avionics technology is only
half the contribution to increased safety. The pilots
must know, understand and be able to efficiently and
proficiently use it. The Nall Report does not define
" poor IFR technique, " but the foundation is surely a
lack of knowledge, skill and proficiency.
Addressing this challenge is beyond the scope
and capabilities of an avionics repair station, but
it could be an opportunity to work with a qualified
instrument flight instructor to provide value-added
options with an avionics upgrade. Working with the
shop, instructors can learn the finer points of each
unit's operational capabilities and incorporate them in
training outlines for the specific equipment or as a unit
in a larger educational effort.
Given the investment in a panel upgrade, it seems
logical that pilots would want to know how to use
their new avionics in flight. Learning to use individual
and integrated capabilities of ADS-B In weather and
traffic, the navigator, and autopilot would make for
a comprehensive instrument proficiency check. This
would not only ensure pilots are instrument current,
but it would also give them demonstrated confidence
that they know how to use their avionics, making them
less likely to contribute numbers to a future Robert T.
Nall Report. q
avionics news * april 2022 37
Avionics News April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News April 2022
