The Effects of Aircraft Certification Rules on General Aviation Accidents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the frequency of general aviation (GA) airplane accidents and accident rates on the basis of aircraft certification to determine whether or not differences in aircraft certification rules had an influence on accidents. In addition, the narrative cause descriptions contained within the accident reports were analyzed to determine whether there were differences in the qualitative data for the different certification categories. The certification categories examined were: Federal Aviation Regulations Part 23 (Part 23), Civil Air Regulations 3 (CAR 3), Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), and Experimental-Amateur Built (E-AB). The accident causes examined were those classified as: Loss of Control (LOC), Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT), Engine Failure, and Structural Failure. Airworthiness certification categories represent a wide diversity of government oversight. Part 23 rules have evolved from the initial set of simpler design standards and have progressed into a comprehensive and strict set of rules to address the safety issues of the more complex airplanes within the category. E-AB airplanes have the least amount of government oversight and are the fastest-growing segment. The LSA category is a more recent certification category that utilizes consensus standards in the approval process. CAR 3 airplanes were designed and manufactured under simpler rules, but modifying these airplanes has become lengthy and expensive. The study was conducted using a mixed-methods methodology. A Chi-Square test was used for a quantitative analysis of the accident frequency among aircraft certification categories. Accident rate analysis of the accidents among aircraft certification categories involved an This article is based on the Doctoral Dissertation of Carolina L. Anderson, submitted to the Department of Doctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Qualitative Analysis of Loss of Control Aircraft Accidents Using Text Mining Techniques

“…Airplanes certified under CAR 3 rules accounted for 53.5% or 618 of the accidents in which LOC was listed as a cause and also accounted for 62. The results of the study indicated that GA aircraft certification rules are statistically linked with the frequency of LOC accidents but not with the mishap rate (Anderson, 2013). The results of this study indicate that the average pilot flight times did not differ substantially among the different certification categories; this result is supported by the literature.…”

“…A quantitative analysis of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports was conducted to understand the effects of aircraft certification rules on GA accidents (Anderson, 2013;Anderson, 2015). Subsequently, a qualitative analysis of the NTSB accident report narratives was performed utilizing text mining techniques to analyze the narrative causes within the NTSB accident reports of accidents where Loss of Control (LOC) was listed as a cause.…”

“…The qualitative results are exploratory and not causal but are a great tool to fill the gap between initial quantitative results (Teddie & Tashakkori, 2009). Text mining techniques were utilized to help analyze the qualitative portion of the NTSB accident reports and explain the results of the quantitative portion of a previous study-see summary of quantitative study section- (Anderson, 2013;Anderson, 2015).…”

“…These results helped comprehend and extend the findings of a quantitative analysis conducted to understand the association of aircraft certification rules on GA mishaps (Anderson, 2013;Anderson, 2015) 1 . The main objective of this study is to explain and illustrate how text mining techniques were used to analyze the qualitative portion of the accident reports.…”

Qualitative Analysis of Loss of Control Aircraft Accidents Using Text Mining Techniques

“…The objective of this study was to analyze the narrative National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident cause descriptions for general aviation (GA) Loss of Control (LOC) accident reports by the different certification categories: 14CFR 23 (Part 23), Civil Air Regulations 3 (CAR 3), Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), and Experimental-Amateur Built (E-AB). These results helped comprehend and extend the findings of a quantitative analysis conducted to understand the association of aircraft certification rules on GA mishaps (Anderson, 2013;Anderson, 2015) 1 . The main objective of this study is to explain and illustrate how text mining techniques were used to analyze the qualitative portion of the accident reports.…”