The FAA kicked off a national general-aviation safety campaign on Saturday, encouraging GA pilots to install and use angle-of-attack indicators in their aircraft. Loss of control is the number-one cause of GA accidents. Angle-of-attack indicators can help to prevent some of these accidents, the FAA said, by making it easier for a pilot to recognize an impending stall and take corrective action. Last year, the FAA simplified its design-approval requirements for the devices, making it simpler and cheaper to install them in GA aircraft.
Other factors that contribute to loss-of-control accidents include failure to recognize an aerodynamic stall or spin and take corrective action, intentional regulatory non-compliance, low pilot time in aircraft make and model, lack of piloting ability, failure to maintain airspeed, failure to follow procedure, pilot inexperience, and the use of over-the-counter drugs that impact pilot performance. FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker officially debuted the Fly Safe campaign at the fly-in at AOPA’s headquarters in Frederick, Maryland. Many GA groups are partnering in the effort, including EAA, the Aircraft Electronics Association, GAMA, NBAA, the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators and others.
