AboutMalcolm Dickinson Expertise Certified flight instructor and commercial pilot, rated in all categories of
aircraft. I specialize in primary instruction in airplanes and gliders;
gyroplanes; and transition instruction in Lake Amphibians (seaplanes). As a
search-and-rescue pilot with Civil Air Patrol and the Coast Guard Auxiliary,
I can offer information on joining and flying with those organizations.
Experience Experience:
As a pilot, earning ratings in all categories of aircraft, including rotorcraft and lighter-than-air.
As a flight instructor, instructing eight high-school aged Civil Air Patrol cadets
Question Hi! Im 16 and am looking into getting my Private Pilots License within the next year or so. In fact, I'd like to eventually become a fighter pilot in the Marine Corps. But anyways, my biggest question and concern is this:
What percentage of plane crashes (small single engine type planes) are caused by human error? I always feel safe in a Commercial Airplane, but like every week I'm hearing about small private planes going down ect and it just makes me more nervous about actually going in the air by myself one of these days.
Thanks!
Answer Almost all airplane accidents are caused by human error. The vast majority of private pilots will fly their entire career without a single accident. When accidents do occur, they are usually due to one of the following causes:
1. the pilot did something really stupid, that is, something his instructor had warned him never to do.
2. the pilot flew into bad weather (which counts as one of the above - something he had been trained never to do.)
3. the pilot was trained in how to do something safely, and either forgot his training or failed to carry out the procedure properly. (see: J.F.K. Jr.)
So I hope this reassures you that generally, when a pilot has an accident, it is his fault. if you become a careful and conscientious pilot, you will go many years without an accident.
While mechanical failures do occasionally cause an airplane engine to stop, pilots are well trained on what to do in this case and can always land their plane safely and walk away from the accident. Mechanical failures are not a factor in most aircraft accidents.
If you want to know more about the most common causes of general aviation accidents, search (using google or yahoo) for "The Nall Report". This report is issued by the general aviation safety foundation and contains a good analysis of all the general aviation accidents and their causes.
