@article{ref1,
title="A comparison of special category light-sport and corresponding type-certificated aircraft safety",
journal="Journal of safety research",
year="2018",
author="Anderson, Carolina and Stolzer, Alan and Boyd, Douglas D.",
volume="66",
number="",
pages="95-99",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: The special category light sport airplane (light sport) sector of general aviation has grown 10-fold in as many years with solo operations requiring only a sports pilot's certificate. With little research on light sport airplane safety, the study objective was to compare light sport and type-certificated airplane accident rates. <br><br>METHOD: Accidents were identified from the National Transportation Safety Board database. Statistics employed Poisson distribution/proportion analyses/Mann-Whitney U-tests. <br><br>RESULTS: For the 2009-2015 period, the light sport airplane accident rate (fatal/non-fatal combined) was >15-fold higher than comparable type-certificated aircraft, undiminished over time. The excessive light sport airplane accident rate was associated with inferior airman experience (time-in-type, certification). Mishaps were most frequent during landing (40%) and, of these, nearly half were due to a deficiency in the flare. There were a dis-proportionate number of trainees involved in landing accidents compared with mishaps for other phases of operations. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Towards improving safety, additional light sport training with emphasis on landings and a focus on the flare and directional control is warranted. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In the confines of the present study considering that landing mishaps, the most common accident cause, are often related to deficiencies in the flare and loss-of-directional control, instructors should ensure that airmen have mastered these aspects of landing and, for trainees, acquired the appropriate visual monocular cues.<br><br>Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-4375",
doi="10.1016/j.jsr.2018.06.004",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2018.06.004"
}