According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), loss of control in-flight is the greatest cause of general aviation accidents. The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequently occurring probable causes and contributing factors from loss of control in-flight. This study used the Pareto principle and methodology developed by the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee to analyze accidents retrieved from the NTSB's Aviation Accident Database. The results showed that 73% of the accidents contained the contributing factor of \"PILOT - Failure to maintain airspeed\" across the three categories of reciprocating engine aircraft, turbine engine aircraft, and experimental-amateur built (E-AB) aircraft. The results also showed that 50% of all the accidents resulted from a pairing of \"Pilot-Failure to maintain airspeed\" and \"PILOT - Aerodynamic stall/spin.\" Hypothesis testing showed very few statistically significant differences among the three aircraft categories (Recip, Turbine, and E-AB). The study concluded that resources should be allocated towards finding a solution for pilots' failure to maintain airspeed.
","abstract_html":"<p>According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), loss of control in-flight is the greatest cause of general aviation accidents. The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequently occurring probable causes and contributing factors from loss of control in-flight. This study used the Pareto principle and methodology developed by the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee to analyze accidents retrieved from the NTSB's Aviation Accident Database. The results showed that 73% of the accidents contained the contributing factor of "PILOT - Failure to maintain airspeed" across the three categories of reciprocating engine aircraft, turbine engine aircraft, and experimental-amateur built (E-AB) aircraft. The results also showed that 50% of all the accidents resulted from a pairing of "Pilot-Failure to maintain airspeed" and "PILOT - Aerodynamic stall/spin." Hypothesis testing showed very few statistically significant differences among the three aircraft categories (Recip, Turbine, and E-AB). The study concluded that resources should be allocated towards finding a solution for pilots' failure to maintain airspeed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Branham, Brittnee Nicholle"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aeronautics","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Applied Aviation Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:02Z","subjects":["aviation accidents","aircraft accidents","approach","landing","loss of control","Aviation","Aviation Safety and Security","Management and Operations"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/26","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Branham, Brittnee Nicholle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Applied Aviation Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aeronautics"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["aviation accidents","aircraft accidents","approach","landing","loss of control","Aviation","Aviation Safety and Security","Management and Operations"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/26"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), loss of control in-flight is the greatest cause of general aviation accidents. The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequently occurring probable causes and contributing factors from loss of control in-flight. This study used the Pareto principle and methodology developed by the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee to analyze accidents retrieved from the NTSB's Aviation Accident Database. The results showed that 73% of the accidents contained the contributing factor of \"PILOT - Failure to maintain airspeed\" across the three categories of reciprocating engine aircraft, turbine engine aircraft, and experimental-amateur built (E-AB) aircraft. The results also showed that 50% of all the accidents resulted from a pairing of \"Pilot-Failure to maintain airspeed\" and \"PILOT - Aerodynamic stall/spin.\" Hypothesis testing showed very few statistically significant differences among the three aircraft categories (Recip, Turbine, and E-AB). The study concluded that resources should be allocated towards finding a solution for pilots' failure to maintain airspeed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Analysis of Fatal General Aviation Accidents Occurring from Loss of Control on Approach and Landing"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Branham, Brittnee Nicholle"],"dc:description.abstract":["According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), loss of control in-flight is the greatest cause of general aviation accidents. The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequently occurring probable causes and contributing factors from loss of control in-flight. This study used the Pareto principle and methodology developed by the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee to analyze accidents retrieved from the NTSB's Aviation Accident Database. The results showed that 73% of the accidents contained the contributing factor of \"PILOT - Failure to maintain airspeed\" across the three categories of reciprocating engine aircraft, turbine engine aircraft, and experimental-amateur built (E-AB) aircraft. The results also showed that 50% of all the accidents resulted from a pairing of \"Pilot-Failure to maintain airspeed\" and \"PILOT - Aerodynamic stall/spin.\" Hypothesis testing showed very few statistically significant differences among the three aircraft categories (Recip, Turbine, and E-AB). The study concluded that resources should be allocated towards finding a solution for pilots' failure to maintain airspeed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/26"],"dc:subject":["aviation accidents","aircraft accidents","approach","landing","loss of control","Aviation","Aviation Safety and Security","Management and Operations"],"dc:title":["Analysis of Fatal General Aviation Accidents Occurring from Loss of Control on Approach and Landing"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Applied Aviation Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aeronautics"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:02Z"}