FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is not happy with the GA accident rate. “The GA numbers, candidly, are not where I would like them to be,” he said during a visit to AirVenture.
He did concede that the GA accident rate is actually “trending” better, with constant improvements. “But,” he said, “we’ve set ambitious goals and GA is not achieving those goals.”
He noted that in the first six months of the year, there were 120 fatal accidents, an 8% drop from a year ago. But he thinks GA can do better. “We need to strive to have a much lower number.”
Homebuilts were mentionally specifically by the administrator. “Last year amateur-built aircraft accounted for 25% of all GA accidents,” he reported. The problem is that homebuilts are only 10% of the aircraft fleet, which means that accident rate is an “ordinate” number.
A high percentage of those accidents are when homebuilts are sold. “My big pitch is that if you are buying one, you need to make certain you get the training you need,” he said. “If you are selling a homebuilt, you need to make sure the buyer understands that this is a complex aircraft.”
For more information: FAA.gov
