Flight Training - March/April 2025 - 18

PREFLIGHT ACCIDENT ANALYSIS
BY ALICIA HERRON
NEW YEAR, SAME MISTAKES
FIXING OUR LANDINGS
THE AOPA AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE HAS
released the thirty-fourth annual Richard
G. McSpadden Report (previously Joseph
T. Nall Report). This report analyzes accident
data from general aviation accidents
for 2022, and with this data we observe
trends, see where we're doing well regarding
safety, and focus on areas where we
can improve. The report covers the types
of aircraft that account for 99 percent of
GA flight activity-airplanes with maximum
rated gross takeoff weight of 12,500
pounds or less and helicopters of all sizes.
Total accidents increased from 1,120 in
2021 to 1,152 in 2022, a slight change considering
an increase in more than 500,000
more flight hours flown in 2022. The overall
accident rate rose slightly (from 4.26 to
4.30 accidents per 100,000 flight hours),
but the fatal accident rate continued to
trend downward, lowering from 0.76 to
0.68 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours.
Overall, this is good news for the industry.
One continuing trend is that the number
of accidents during the landing phase
of flight remains high. Thankfully, these
have a low fatality rate. But we can do
more to reduce these accidents. The first
two categorizations of accidents account
for most noncommercial
fixed-wing landing accidents
and are causes from which
we can learn the most. In first
place with 136 total accidents,
one fatal: loss of control on
ground. And in second place,
with 109 total accidents, all
nonfatal: abnormal runway
contact (ARC).
Loss of control on the
ground is a broad category
that can include any time
the pilot loses control in a
nonflight portion of operation.
This includes loss of control
because of runway contamination
but is most often from
pilot error (surprise, surprise).
With both these categories,
trouble starts when the pilot
is stagnant and fails to react to
or preempt changing condi18
WILDLIFE
LANDING
PROFICIENCY
Start
with slow flight
in the practice area,
get those other-sideof-the-power-curve
muscles
warmed up
* Go-arounds
* Centerline control
exercise-low
approach, watch
the way the nose
moves and how
the airplane feels
with varying
rudder and aileron
inputs
* Landings-normal
landing, shorts,
softs, no flap,
power-off
one-eighties.
Remember you
can always go
around!
FLIGHT TRAINING MARCH/APRIL 2025
tions appropriately. Landing is
a dynamic process, and pilots
will likely need to adjust the
things they can control-power,
and especially flight controls-
often until the aircraft is safely
stopped. When wheels meet pavement (or
grass, or dirt, and so on), the flying is not
over. The transition from controlling the
airplane with the flight controls to being
able to rely on the wheels and brakes is
critical. With a lack of attention, the time
right after touchdown can become a loss of
control event. Believe it or not, even nosewheel
airplanes can ground loop (though
it is rare and much harder to do than in a
taildragger). Don't lock up on the controls.
Keep making small adjustments through
the rollout and remember these adjustments
should increase as the aircraft slows
and flight controls lose effectiveness. Don't
slam on the brakes or think the brakes will
save you from a bad landing. Don't get lazy
with the rudders, and wear shoes that give
you full rudder authority (sometimes heels
on boots or slip-on shoes can interfere if
you aren't used to them), and make sure
your seat is adjusted to give you full rudder
control and full braking. By keeping crosswind
controls in even during
taxi, dancing on those rudders,
and appropriately using wheel
brakes and aerodynamic braking,
you can help prevent loss
of control accidents.
The NTSB considers
abnormal runway contact as
" events such as hard/heavy
landings, long/fast landings,
off center landings, crabbed
landings, nose wheel first
touchdown, tail strikes, and
wingtip/nacelle strikes ....
Gear-up landings are also
recorded here. "
With energy management,
centerline discipline, and
checklist usage, risks can be
mitigated. If you're going to
land more than a third of the
way down the runway, go
around. Forcing the aircraft
There were only
four wildlife-related
landing accidents,
and none were fatal.
down will mean you're landing
with too much energy, which
will be challenging or impossible
to safely dissipate on the
runway remaining. Land with
too little energy, and you'll slam
it in. The throttle is there to help, and you
can add a burst of power to smooth out (or
save) a touchdown and to not get too slow
on final.
If you're unstable and your airspeed is
off, fix it immediately and go around. Practice
slow flight often to keep your skills
proficient, and if you find your landings
are consistently subpar, get some more
instruction. As far as crabbed landings go,
you probably have more rudder available
to you than you are using. Test it out one of
these days. If the wind exceeds your true
crosswind component-the point where
your rudder, even at maximum deflection,
can't keep you straight-you probably
shouldn't be in the air anyway, and you
should divert to an airport with a more
favorable runway for the wind.
To prevent nosewheel-first and tail
strike landings, sight picture is key. If you
can't fly the same airplane every time, at
least have a general idea of where you normally
have the seat. Take note on rotation
of the sight picture over the dash and keep
that in mind for touchdown. Energy state
plays a big role in tail/nose strikes. Proper
management is key to avoiding the strike.
The key to all successful landings is a
stable approach with an active, attentive
pilot at the controls. Pay attention, and
don't consider the landing as assured until
you're well and fully stopped, or even
better, back at the hangar. Recognize that
practicing takeoffs and landings back-toback
has a threshold of learning and at
some point they have a diminishing return.
True proficiency is not banging out an
hour and a half flight, instead it occurs
over numerous flights with shorter duration
practice. Complacency is the enemy
here, and with vigilance and proficiency,
we can reduce the number of landing accidents
and improve the accident rate.
alicia.herron@aopa.org
Flight Training - March/April 2025

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