avoiding loss of control Over the past 5 years more than 60% of RAAus fatal accidents are believed to have occurred due to loss of control events, but what do we mean when we talk about loss of control, and what are the most common scenarios resulting in a loss of control event? At RAAus, we refer to two forms of loss of control events: • Loss of control in flight (LOC-I), and; • Runway loss of control (R-LOC) Loss of control in flight events refer to occurrences where the aircraft operates outside of the normal flight envelope, or when normal control of the aircraft is lost during flight. These often result from failure to prevent or recover from a stall and/ or upset. This may refer to occurrences immediately after take-off, during the final approach to land, or during any other phase of flight, most commonly
occurring within a turn. Loss of control events are the number one cause of fatal accident, not only within RAAus operations, but within light aircraft operations globally. The most common cause of loss of control in flight is stall/spin events. Another form of loss of control event is entry into a spiral dive often from VFR flight into IMC which accounts for approximately 1 in 10 fatal accidents in Australia. Runway loss of control refers to occurrences where directional control of the aircraft is lost, often resulting in a ground loop or runway excursion. Runway loss of control is one of the most common causes of aircraft damage and can often be avoided by maintaining a stable approach when landing and making an early decision to commence a go-around if necessary.
Who is at risk? Loss of control in flight can occur to anyone. In fact, fatal loss of control accidents within RAAus operations range from low time pilots through to pilots with many thousands of hours experience. One area where the risk of a loss of control in flight is increased is during farming, mustering and low level flights or any other flight where a pilot may be focused on an object on the ground. During these operations, the pilot often commences a turn at below normal cruise speed. With an increased stall speed introduced by the angle of bank and with the pilot distracted by a point on the ground, it can take only seconds for airspeed to decrease reducing safety margins. If left unnoticed, this scenario may quickly lead to a stall. With these operations often conducted between 500-1000 feet, this often does not leave sufficient altitude to recover from a stall/spin event. Runway loss of control events occur more commonly for pilots with less than 250 hours total flying experience, or with low experience on aircraft type. In many cases these occurrences are linked to unstable environmental conditions such as turbulence or gusty wind conditions, or occur during the mismanagement of a hard or unstable landing. Pilots are reminded of the importance of electing to conduct a go-around if they are not stable on final approach or if they encounter a bounce upon landing. Early decision making could have undoubtedly saved many an aircraft from a runway loss of control event, and unfortunately, could have also saved lives.
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