Loss of Control Remains a Trap for Pilots

Loss of control in flight (LOC-I) “has not really gotten any worse. But it’s also not getting any better either,” according to Randall Brooks, v-p of training and business development at Mesa, Ariz.-based Aviation Performance Solutions (APS), a company that offers training aimed at mitigating LOC-I. Royal Aeronautical Society data shows LOC-I as an accident cause in 20 percent of accidents versus controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) at 40 percent between 1987 and 2005. Data from 1998-2008 showed CFIT dropped to 15 percent, while LOC-I remained essentially the same.

Brooks believes pilots need to seriously evaluate their own capabilities. He said the LOC-I problem is “simply not appreciated [as a real threat by most pilots]. They don’t believe it can ever happen to them. Because pilots successfully complete recurrent training and are never exposed to anything they can’t handle, they think they’re pretty safe. But [the statistics show] that doesn’t work in an upset.”

The likelihood of fatalities is much greater in LOC-I accidents than in other types of accident, Brooks said. Full-motion simulators that more accurately re-create full stalls at all attitudes and altitudes won’t be required until 2019. While they're a step in the right direction, Brooks said, the simulators won’t cover all the variables of LOC-I.