U.S. FAA deputy administrator Mike Whitaker is encouraged that a series of initiatives to curb general aviation fatal accidents is beginning to take root, but says more needs to be done to improve the accident rate. Whitaker participated in a GA Safety Summit on March 31 with a number of general aviation organizations to discuss the safety priorities of the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC), as well as efforts to promote ADS-B equipage. The government/industry-based GAJSC has been tasked with taking a data-driven approach to tackling safety issues.

“While we still have more work to do, the GA Joint Steering Committee’s work on voluntary safety measures is making a difference,” Whitaker said. The fatal accident rate during Fiscal Year 2015 dropped to 1.03 per 100,000 hours and has declined further in the first four months of Fiscal Year 2016. The GAJSC had set a goal of a 10-percent reduction by fiscal 2018, bringing the rate to one accident per 100,000 hours.

“While the fatal accident rate is beginning to decline, too many lives are still being lost. Last year, 384 people died in 238 general aviation accidents,” Whitaker said. He pointed to efforts to address that rate, including the Fly Safe campaign, progress on the recently released proposed Part 23 rewrite and implementation of ADS-B. 

“There’s also no question that ADS-B is one of NextGen’s most important safety technologies, and we’re continuing to work closely with the Equip 2020 team to get it into more general aviation aircraft,” he said. ADS-B IN provides free in-cockpit weather and traffic information to pilots.

As for the GAJSC team, “Our focus remains on reducing the risk of loss of control in flight,” said Jens Hennig, v-p of operations for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and co-chair of the GAJSC’s Safety Analysis Team. The GAJSC also has been focusing on powerplant accidents, which the team has seen as a growing area of risk. The group approved a series of recommendations to address that risk. That report, which is undergoing final revisions, is expected to be available within the next couple of weeks.

The safety summit also reviewed another key initiative: the new airman certification standards that are set to take effect in June.