In 2003, mechanical and maintenance were the major cause of 15% of all GA accidents, and 7.5% of fatal accidents

Typically, one mistake or failure—a precipitating event—leads to another in a cascading series of malfunctions and mistakes, culminatiing in an accident. This is called the accident chain.

By any calculation, the average pilot could fly many, many lifetimes without having an accident of any sort, let alone a much more rare fatal mishap.

In 2003, electrical/ignition failures accounted for 3% of all accidents, and 0% of fatal accidents.

2004 Nall Report

  
 

CIRRUS Monthly Proficiency Program
3 part series on IFR operations
August – Part 1: Electrical Systems



Step back: In virtually every problem situation, there’s no need for split-second reaction.

Think: Think through the situation. Most of the time, you’ll be able to get back on track by going over the actions you’ve just performed and simply undoing what you just did. (You may need to think back on your actions as far as 30 seconds, because it may take up to that long for the result of a procedural change to become apparent.)

Decide: Determine the proper corrective action and take it.

Don’t panic! There’s absolutely no need. CIRRUS redundancy eliminates the (figurative) panic button altogether. In fact, in a CIRRUS, almost the only way a crisis can occur is if you panic rather than step back, think and decide.

Over the next three months, the CIRRUS Monthly Pilot Proficiency Program will review single-pilot operations in the IFR environment. You’ll see how CIRRUS airplane design, coupled with your experience and the proper approach to problems you may encounter, will help keep you safe.

We’ll explore how the following systems work and what to do when things go wrong.

  • August: Electrical System
  • September: Primary Flight Display
  • October: Icing (TKS)


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