NTSB record

[way_up_north]

The wife was asking how safe is the Bearhawk, I went onto the NTSB site to look over the records and I could not find any fatalities... just things like ground loops and such.

maybe I’m missing something,.sometimes aircraft are sorted under builder names..etc..can I tell the wife to this point there have been no fatalities in a Bearhawk?

[jaredyates]

There has been one, unfortunately.

https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20090130X03600&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=LA

[jaredyates]

Some of the safety features that I value in the Bearhawk:
Low landing/stalling speed means less energy to lose in a controlled crash or landing mishap
Steel fuselage acts like a roll cage
Tailwheel configuration improves odds of staying upright on soft surfaces
Well engineered structure that will hold up as well as anything
​​​​​​​

[zkelley2]

Honestly as with most experimentals the sample size is too small to have any useful data. The closest thing in the certified world is the maule and 180. If there were similar amounts of bearhawks flying I'd expect to see similar accident rates as those two planes.

[rodsmith]

I knew Bill and his wife, having visited with them at Sun&Fun and Oshkosh, really fine folk, and was very disturbing to hear of the crash at the time. Hard to understand how a possible carburator ice induced engine problem ended up with crashing inverted with an experienced pilot at the controls. As I recall it was one of the passengers first and unfortunately last plane ride.

[craig]

For the last few months, Ron Wanttaja has authored several articles published by KitPlanes magazine on homebuilt accidents. He does a bit of analysis on the data. Though the articles are for E-AB’s in general and not Bearhawk’s specifically.
Several years ago, the NTSB did a study on E-AB airplanes, there were various recommendations aimed at improving our safety rates.
https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-s...es/SS1201.aspx
However, if someone is really concerned about their safety while flying in an E-AB airplane (or even a GA airplane), a logical discussion of facts, accident rates, etc. is probably not going to win any debate with them.

[tailwind]

The 2018 November issue of Kit Planes has a nice article “Homebuilt Accidents: Pilot Error”. Again the sample is small but I still think there is some good information that can be learned from the article.

[Archer39J]

Yeah the statistics aren't great. Good ADM, aircraft performance, and design hopefully put us in the lower likelihood of experiencing an incident.

[Battson]

I knew Bill and his wife, having visited with them at Sun&Fun and Oshkosh, really fine folk, and was very disturbing to hear of the crash at the time. Hard to understand how a possible carburator ice induced engine problem ended up with crashing inverted with an experienced pilot at the controls. As I recall it was one of the passengers first and unfortunately last plane ride.

Yes, "fluctuating engine RPM between 2200 and 2500" doesn't bring a plane down, or cause it to fly erratically.

All primary flight controls and the aircraft was structurally intact. The plane was not the problem by the sounds of that report, as with 85% of aircraft accidents. It sounds like a different problem, a careful read of the report provides clues.

I only say this to support the safety of the Bearhawk design. I don't like to speculate about the cause of air crashes, as a rule.

[way_up_north]

Yes, "fluctuating engine RPM between 2200 and 2500" doesn't bring a plane down, or cause it to fly erratically.

All primary flight controls and the aircraft was structurally intact. The plane was not the problem by the sounds of that report, as with 85% of aircraft accidents. It sounds like a different problem, a careful read of the report provides clues.

I only say this to support the safety of the Bearhawk design. I don't like to speculate about the cause of air crashes, as a rule.

I was building an rv7 years ago and sold it half way through.....I read each and every rv ntsb report for all rv models...

im not disparaging the rv line...it's that it's a diffrent mission and philosophy...

the Bearhawk by comparison of the ntsb reports...sounds like a forgiving airframe. The number of reports is smaller but that's my opinion....I quite frankly I would not want to leave an rv to a family member in my will......the Bearhawk I have no problem leaving it to my kids...

[JimParker256]

I was building an rv7 years ago and sold it half way through.....I read each and every rv ntsb report for all rv models...

im not disparaging the rv line...it's that it's a diffrent mission and philosophy...

the Bearhawk by comparison of the ntsb reports...sounds like a forgiving airframe. The number of reports is smaller but that's my opinion....I quite frankly I would not want to leave an rv to a family member in my will......the Bearhawk I have no problem leaving it to my kids...

Of course, the fact that there are now over 10,000 RVs completed and flying means that even if the rates were identical, RVs would appear 100X as often as Bearhawks. Compared to the rest of the homebuilt industry (EAB), the RV clan has an exceptionally good accident record. I hope we Bearhawkers can beat their record over time, but the mission profile (off-pavement, back country, etc.) will make that tough!

That said, one of the key reasons I'm building a Patrol is that I believe it is one of the safest airplanes out there, with an incredible airspeed envelope (±30 kts stall to ±135 kts cruise), and an incredible ability to actually haul "stuff" in the process.

[svyolo]

Someone just showed me a website that shows the aircraft accidents each day. It seemed to average 20-30 per day, in the US alone. Those are hull losses. I was shocked the number was so high.

[zkelley2]

GA, statistically, is crazy unsafe. Experimental, considerably worse.

[Bdflies]

I remember reading, a while back, that the #1 cause of EAB accidents was 'fuel system problems', of one sort or another. Another big issue was pilot error attributable to being non-current, or proficient in the type of airplane. Think 150hr C172 pilot who spent 5 years building a Glasair III..... When the GIII's started flying, the accident rate was so bad, insurance became unavailable! Then, there are the folks who pressure themselves for the “1st flight" by inviting everyone they know to watch!
Well built, a Bearhawk should be as 'safe' as any similar GA aircraft.
I wrote, then deleted a couple of sentences about things like proficiency in type and proper decisions, especially about the first flights. We all know that obvious stuff, don’t we?

Bill

[JimParker256]

Yeah, I'm sure we do... But we also know that airplane engines require fuel to operate, yet there are people every week who run out of gas. And we know that flight into terrain is not recommended, yet someone does it on a regular basis. And we know that VFR into IMC is a nearly sure-fire recipe for adding ourselves to the Darwin Award candidate's list, yet someone manages THAT on a regular basis as well... But then, we NEVER read about this stuff in the aviation magazines, either... Do we?

People (pilots) have an incredible ability to say "I'd never do that..." and then go do it anyway... It's because we all think we are better pilots than we really are. Back when I was an Army instructor pilot (OH-58 helicopters), I had my AeroScout Platoon members (10 pilots) sit in a circle facing each other, then passed out pencil and paper, asking them to rank-order all the pilots in the platoon, from best (#1) to worst (#10). I promised I would not collect their list, and I wasn't going to have them read it or anything, so I asked them to be truthful and do the best job they possibly could. When they were done, I asked everyone to close their eyes, then asked them to raise their hand if they had listed themselves in the top three... As I expected, all ten guys had their hands in the air... I asked them to keep their hands in the air, and open their eyes. Of course, every pilot in the room was shocked (SHOCKED, I tell ya!) to see that the person they ranked #10 had their hand in the air – a fact I pointed out to them. Then I said to the group "But what if YOUR name appears in nine of the lists as the #10 pilot, and YOU'RE the one whose hand everyone is shocked to see in the air?" We then went on to have a discussion about how we might fly differently, or train differently, or prepare differently if we really were not quite as good as we think we are... It was in interesting exercise, to say the least!

[Bdflies]

Ha! I really like that! The vast majority of my closest buddies are pilots. I think I’m gonna try that next time we do a bar-b-que!

Bill

[PaulSA]

A few years ago, a guy had more than a few beers and decided it was a good idea at 2 in the morning to take 3 mates and a girl (5 total) in his 4 seat RV-10 and do low-level wingovers. Naturally, it didn't end well......So one more RV accident stat....... There is nothing unsafe about RVs. They are just higher performance aircraft that need proper training and handling.

In the UK, at least, the stats for certified and NTC aircraft are near enough the same. The build process and quality is more closely monitored though and you can't do things like arbitrarily declare higher gross weights than recommended.

[svyolo]

From the NTSB website.
It is worse than I thought. 40 a day.

I think most people would be surprised at the most dangerous thing most people do. It is not skydiving, hang gliding, skiing, or flying light aircraft. Believe it or not it is going to the doctor. You would be amazed at the numbers.

[Archer39J]

Oh yeah, hospitals kill between 2 and 4 times the number of people who die from firearms each year in the US, depending on which source you cite. Not trying to politicize this, but it is interesting you never hear about that. Physicians heal thyself...