Jeff: This is really great stuff.  Thank you.

 

I was thinking, I don’t know if this would work, be helpful or would be a waste of time and money, but….

 

Not every Lancair owner/pilot is on the mailing list, would it help things to physically print some of these things along with NTSB accident reports and physically mail them every Lancair owner/pilot?  This could be done each month, bi-monthly or every quarter (hopefully accident rates drop so once a quarter would be too much).  Sent in an ‘Official’ Lancair envelope.  I wonder if having this information regularly put in front of folks might help sober us up a bit? 

 

I wonder if we could involve the Insurance companies.  Maybe form a small non-profit that can be proactive in informing Lancair pilots?  How about the “Lancair Safety Council”?  If this has any merit, what do we need to do to get it going?

 

 

In the same breath, I also have to say that in looking at the past Nall reports, each year shows around 1400 accidents with around 300 being fatal for all of GA.  According to Jeff’s data, total Lancair accidents since there were Lancair aircraft is 146.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that over a span of over 20 years or so? 

 

That last question could imply a dismissive attitude towards the recent events, but I don’t mean to portray that.  This has been a very sad and rough year, but is it a trend or a blip?   While I want to do something, I also want to make sure we choose the right medicine.

 

Obviously a zero accident rate is desired, but what accident rate is necessary for an airplane to be considered “safe” (sometimes I really don’t like that word, because it means so many different things to different people).

 

 

 

There is a quote in the 2006 Nall report that I like:

 

“If you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds;  but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.”  --Wilbur Wright, 1901

 

http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/06nall.pdf

 

Treat your machines well, keep up on the maintenance, do what it takes to be proficient, be wise, and let’s get something figured out so we don’t loose our ability to fly these wonderful machines.

 

Kevin