General Aviation Loss of Control in Flight Accidents: Causal and Contributory Factors

Abstract

Loss of control in flight is the primary fatal accident category in general aviation. Forty-six fixed-wing United Kingdom accidents from 2018 and 2019 were analyzed to identify precursors, human factors, and possible reasons for unsuccessful recovery. Most of the events were nonfatal (82.6%), and most occurred during low-altitude flight phases: particularly, landings and go-arounds. Pilots under the age of 40 and over the age of 75 were disproportionately more likely to experience loss of control in flight. It was mostly precipitated by ineffective recovery from an upset, inadequate energy management, abnormal/inadvertent control inputs or maneuvers, or improper procedures. Insufficient height above the ground was a factor in most unsuccessful recoveries, followed by limited pilot capability. Fatal accidents were much more likely to be unrecoverable due to a hazardous mental or physical state or incorrect recognition of the situation. Decision- and skill-based human errors contributed to most events; more than half of the cases involved both errors. Fatal accidents were more complex in terms of preflight and latent human errors. These results informed a new definition of loss of control in flight for general aviation combined with a conceptual framework to inform future intervention strategies.