State's skies getting safer for small-plane pilots

DAVID PORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
03-30-2008

State's skies getting safer for small-plane pilots -- Dip in fatalities tied to training, equipment
By DAVID PORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 03-30-2008, Sunday
Section: NEWS
Edtion: All Editions

NEWARK — On a clear day last March, a single-engine aircraft crashed in a wooded area of Howell Township, killing 70-year-old Eugene Pilot, a veteran pilot with more than 1,500 hours of flight experience.

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the crash, as well as another milestone: For only the second time in 25 years, there were no fatal plane crashes in New Jersey in a 12-month period, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The last time that happened was between May 2003 and August 2004.

Despite having some of the most crowded airspace in the country, fatal crashes in New Jersey have declined this decade to about 50 percent below mid-1990s rates.

The decrease is even more dramatic when compared to the years from 1983 to 1987, when 104 people died in crashes. The number dropped to 32 between 2003 and 2007, according to NTSB statistics.

It's a trend that contradicts the perception that New Jersey's skies are becoming more dangerous. While much attention has been focused on reducing flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport — and on a few instances of planes straying onto the wrong runway — flying a small plane may be statistically safer than ever.

That may be partly because the number of small aircraft registered in the state has barely increased since 2000 and is actually smaller now than it was in 1995, despite the state's population growth.

Experts also credit improved technology and better pilot training.

"Each is a piece of the puzzle," said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the Maryland-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the country's largest organization for general-aviation pilots. "A substantial part of it is that with a lot of organizations such as ours, there's really an emphasis on continuing safety education."

Airplane technology has improved as well. Dancy said small planes increasingly are equipped with a cockpit display that uses software to monitor fuel and how much flying time is left.

Older planes feature a round gauge with two needles — one for each fuel tank — that resembles a car's fuel gauge, he said. Pilots do their own calculations based on the plane's rate for burning fuel.

"In the old gauges, one of the things pilots were taught was not to really trust them, but to use them as an approximate reference," Dancy said. "The fuel management tools available in glass cockpits are so much more precise that we're just not seeing as many fuel mismanagement mistakes."

An accident last November near Atlantic City Airport offered a pointed example. Pilot Anthony Kelly said he checked the fuel tanks located in each wing and calculated how many hours he'd be flying — except the plane was larger than ones he normally flew and he miscalculated the amount of fuel it would burn.

"I didn't think the plane consumed as many gallons as it did, and I put myself in a bad situation," Kelly said Thursday.

Kelly's plane crashed into a tree in a field. Miraculously, he and his two passengers survived.

The publicity generated by a small-plane crash can have a ripple effect, Dancy said. That might explain why there was an 11-month gap in fatal accidents after two planes collided over Burlington County in the summer of 2000, killing 11 people.

"I think there are two things that cross your mind, and anyone who says differently is probably not telling the truth," Dancy said. "One is, 'Thank heaven it wasn't me,' and the other is, 'I would never do that.' There is then a tendency to go back and do some additional training. One of the things I've always appreciated about the aviation community is that every mistake is treated as a learning opportunity."

Keywords: AVIATION, SAFETY

Copyright 2008 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
State's skies getting safer for small-plane pilotsDAVID PORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
03-30-2008

State's skies getting safer for small-plane pilots -- Dip in fatalities tied to training, equipment
By DAVID PORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 03-30-2008, Sunday
Section: NEWS
Edtion: All Editions

NEWARK — On a clear day last March, a single-engine aircraft crashed in a wooded area of Howell Township, killing 70-year-old Eugene Pilot, a veteran pilot with more than 1,500 hours of flight experience.

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the crash, as well as another milestone: For only the second time in 25 years, there were no fatal plane crashes in New Jersey in a 12-month period, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The last time that happened was between May 2003 and August 2004.

Despite having some of the most crowded airspace in the country, fatal crashes in New Jersey have declined this decade to about 50 percent below mid-1990s rates.

The decrease is even more dramatic when compared to the years from 1983 to 1987, when 104 people died in crashes. The number dropped to 32 between 2003 and 2007, according to NTSB statistics.

It's a trend that contradicts the perception that New Jersey's skies are becoming more dangerous. While much attention has been focused on reducing flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport — and on a few instances of planes straying onto the wrong runway — flying a small plane may be statistically safer than ever.

That may be partly because the number of small aircraft registered in the state has barely increased since 2000 and is actually smaller now than it was in 1995, despite the state's population growth.

Experts also credit improved technology and better pilot training.

"Each is a piece of the puzzle," said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the Maryland-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the country's largest organization for general-aviation pilots. "A substantial part of it is that with a lot of organizations such as ours, there's really an emphasis on continuing safety education."

Airplane technology has improved as well. Dancy said small planes increasingly are equipped with a cockpit display that uses software to monitor fuel and how much flying time is left.

Older planes feature a round gauge with two needles — one for each fuel tank — that resembles a car's fuel gauge, he said. Pilots do their own calculations based on the plane's rate for burning fuel.

"In the old gauges, one of the things pilots were taught was not to really trust them, but to use them as an approximate reference," Dancy said. "The fuel management tools available in glass cockpits are so much more precise that we're just not seeing as many fuel mismanagement mistakes."

An accident last November near Atlantic City Airport offered a pointed example. Pilot Anthony Kelly said he checked the fuel tanks located in each wing and calculated how many hours he'd be flying — except the plane was larger than ones he normally flew and he miscalculated the amount of fuel it would burn.

"I didn't think the plane consumed as many gallons as it did, and I put myself in a bad situation," Kelly said Thursday.

Kelly's plane crashed into a tree in a field. Miraculously, he and his two passengers survived.

The publicity generated by a small-plane crash can have a ripple effect, Dancy said. That might explain why there was an 11-month gap in fatal accidents after two planes collided over Burlington County in the summer of 2000, killing 11 people.

"I think there are two things that cross your mind, and anyone who says differently is probably not telling the truth," Dancy said. "One is, 'Thank heaven it wasn't me,' and the other is, 'I would never do that.' There is then a tendency to go back and do some additional training. One of the things I've always appreciated about the aviation community is that every mistake is treated as a learning opportunity."

Keywords: AVIATION, SAFETY

Copyright 2008 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.