National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
Throughout the 2011 calendar year, the NationalTransportation Safety Board has been conducting a study ofExperimental Amateur-Built (E-AB) aircraft to evaluate thesafety of this growing and innovative segment of general aviation. In addition to using the information gathered during its accident investigations, the NTSB has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and individual owners and builders to evaluate a range of issues unique to this popular segment of general aviation.
“The cooperation we have received from EAA and the E-AB community has been tremendous,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P Hersman. “Through this study, we hope that we’ll be ableto give the innovators and aviators in the community
information about accidents that will result in a real and immediate safety payoff for them when they are flying these aircraft.”
As part of the study, NTSB investigators have conducted in-depth investigations of 222 E-AB aircraft accidents that occurred during 2011. Fifty-four of these accidents resulted in 67 fatalities. Most of these accidents (93%) involved
amateur-built airplanes, the remaining accidents involved gyroplanes (4%), helicopters (2%), and gliders (1%). These accidents occurred in 44 states, with California (18 accidents), Texas (16 accidents), and Florida (14 accidents)
accounting for the most. More than half (53%) of the E-AB accidents investigated in 2011 involved E-AB aircraft that were bought used, as opposed to having been built by the current owner.
The EAA has supported the study by conducting a web-based survey of E-AB owners and builders. More than 5,000 E-AB owners and builders responded to EAA’s survey, and 4,923 of these responses were sufficiently complete to use in
analyses. Most respondents (97%) described E-AB airplanes, while gliders, gyrocopters, and helicopters were each described by slightly less than 1% of the respondents. Sixty-three percent of respondents had already built their
E-AB aircraft, 13% were currently building their E-AB aircraft, and nearly 24% had bought used E-AB aircraft. More than 340 distinct makes of amateur-built aircraft were reported, although kit manufacturers accounted for more than 55% of the reported aircraft.
“The NTSB is extremely pleased with the number of respondents who participated in the survey,” said Dr. Joseph Kolly, Director of the Office of Research and Engineering. “The survey data provides us with quantifiable, factual
information that enriches our understanding of how E-AB aircraft are built and operated.”
The safety study is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2012.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $445,125 civil penalty against Horizon Air of Seattle for allegedly operating a Bombardier Dash-8-400 aircraft on 45 flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges Horizon failed to comply with an airworthiness directive (AD) that required the airline to inspect for cracked or corroded engine nacelle fittings on its Dash-8-400 aircraft. The AD, with an effective date of March 17, 2011, ordered inspections of the nacelles every 300 operating hours, and repairs as needed.Between March 17 and 23, 2011, Horizon operated the aircraft on at least 45 revenue passenger flights when it had accumulated more than 300 hours of flight time since its last inspection.