From: RicArgente@cs.com
Message-ID: <44.8877d12.273021ac@cs.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 08:22:52 EST
Subject: Lancair Accidents: A Brief Analysis
To: lancair.list@olsusa.com
Reply-To: lancair.list@olsusa.com
Mime-Version: 1.0

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In the past couple of days, I've received quite a number of positive private 
email responses to this short analysis I posted last week.  Thank you.

However, I did get a constructive criticism to my analysis that I'd like to 
point out on this forum.  Basically, it was pointed out to me that a singular 
accident cannot be lumped in simply one category but could possibly be 
categorized into several.  As we all know, an accident is usually caused by a 
series of situations and incidents linked together in some sort of 
chain-of-events that eventually leads to an accident.  If the link is broken 
at any point, it is quite possible that an accident could have been avoided.  

As an example, lets say that an aircraft experiences a mechanical problem, 
causing a major distraction to the pilot which in turn causes the pilot to 
stall and spin the airplane into the ground.  Even though this accident was 
initiated by a mechanical problem, the REAL cause of the accident would be 
the failure of the pilot to FLY THE PLANE.  I think that this is a good point 
by my critic and you should all be aware of this fact.  

Dan Shaefer's post about his problem with the flap mechanism is a good 
example on how breaking the chain-of-events can prove to be very beneficial 
to both pilot/passenger and aircraft.  It must have been a good day to fly 
that day and there must have been a few anxious young people waiting their 
turn to fly in Dan's Lancair, but Dan decided to STOP and check things out 
when things didn't seem quite right.  Dan, in essence, broke the chain that 
could have led into a nasty situation.  

Furthermore, my critic also mentioned that if you look deep enough into each 
and every accident, you will find that the leading cause of fatalities is 
failure of the pilot to fly the plane causing the aircraft to stall/spin into 
the ground.  Check it out for yourselves. 

I strongly believe that initial and recurring training in our aircraft will 
go a long way to improving the NTSB Lancair statistics.  But we all knew 
that, right?   

Rick Argente
N360ZR
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