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Light-sport
aircraft (LSA) are outperforming amateur-builts and all of general
aviation in terms of safety, according to the FAA’s recent analysis of
LSA accidents and fatalities. "This is the first time we really
have a body of data that we can look at," said Pete Devaris,
manager and senior analyst in the FAA’s Office of Accident
Investigation. With a little more than two years worth of data and only
29 fatal accidents, the numbers are too small to be statistically
significant, Devaris concluded, adding, "It’s early in the game,
and we’re watching the numbers carefully, but we don’t see anything
here to get excited about."
The LSA
accidents suggest that the pilot is the issue more than the plane, said
John Burton of the FAA. Devaris agreed "It’s early in the game,
but I’m not seeing a community issue of LSA with structural [problems
in] structural integrity." The No. 1 cause of LSA fatal accidents,
said Devaris, is loss of control, and the No. 2 cause is fuel
starvation. He noted that FAA assessment teams are checking LSA
manufacturers’ production processes and systems, and "they’re
not seeing problems there."
These
comments came at an LSA safety check-in meeting Thursday at AirVenture,
attended by EAA and FAA officials. Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president of
industry and regulatory affairs, told the group that the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has voiced some concerns about LSA,
but that NTSB officials are pleased with the progress being made on ASTM
standards and on an assessment of LSA production. "It’s a new
class of aircraft," Lawrence said. "Safety is always a
question." But, he added, the right pieces seem to be in place to
assure the continued safety of LSA.
In 2007 and early 2008,
more than 4,000 "fat ultralights" were registered as
experimental light-sport aircraft (E-LSA) and entered the general
aviation (GA) registry for the first time. That’s changing the makeup
of the GA airplane community, Devaris said. He added, "We have to
watch the statistics very carefully, so we don’t compare apples to
oranges."
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