July 30, 1995 Are Simulator-Trained Pilots Really Safer?

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by	Mike Busch
	This article originally appeared in IFR MAGAZINE.

About the Author ... Mike Busch is editor-in-chief of AVweb, a member of the technical staff at Cessna Pilots Association, and in a prior lifetime was a contributing editor for The Aviation Consumer and IFR Magazine. A 6,000-hour commercial pilot and CFI with airplane, instrument and multiengine ratings, Mike has been flying for 36 years and an aircraft owner for 33. For the past 14 of those years, he's owned and flown a Cessna T310R turbocharged twin, which he maintains himself. In his never-ending quest to become a true renaissance man of aviation, Mike's on the verge of earning his A&P mechanic certificate. Mike and his wife Jan reside on the central coast of California in a semi-rural area where he can't get DSL or cable TV.

In 1986, FlightSafety International conducted a statistical study to compare the accident rates of piston-twin pilots who had trained with FlightSafety to those who had not. This study analyzed US-registered Cessna and Piper piston twin-engine aircraft that were involved in fatal accidents during the years 1983 and 1984. Cessna 337 (centerline-thrust) aircraft were excluded.

Out of a total population of 12,810 of these aircraft, there were 53 fatal accidents in the two years under study. In 89% of the accidents, the NTSB determined that "pilot error" was the primary cause or a major contributing factor. 38% of the accidents were due to improper IFR procedures or decision making. Engine failure with subsequent loss of control was the next most frequent cause, accounting for 13% of the accidents. The typical pilot involved in a fatal accident had an average total flight time of 3,225 hours with 420 hours in type. 69% held Commercial or ATP certificates. Four of the 53 fatal-accident pilots-in-command had more than 10,000 flight hours.

During the study period, 1,521 pilots attended FlightSafety to be trained in the Cessna and Piper piston twins under study. Statistically, a randomly-selected group of 1,521 piston-twin pilots would have been expected to include approximately six pilots who were involved in a fatal accident. But in fact, none of the 1,521 FlightSafety-trained pilots were involved in a fatal accident. (The probability of this occurring strictly by chance is less than one percent.)

This and other statistical studies show clearly that pilots who receive regular recurrent training have far lower accident rates than those who don't. Interestingly enough, the traditional belief that high-time pilots are safer does not seem to be supported by these studies.