What Is One Of The Safest General Aviation Aircraft? — Omar Kaddouha

Omar Kaddouha
3 min readJan 25, 2021
What Is One Of The Safest General Aviation Aircraft?

The Safest General Aviation Aircraft

Every pilot in the sky prioritizes safety above all other things. This fact is further emphasized when a pilot is flying with their family and friends. When in the market for a private aircraft, a plane’s safety factor should be what drives your choice rather than a luxury. Once you’ve chosen a safe aircraft, you can then think of aspects like luxury, style and colour.

In the history of aeroplanes, twin-engine failures have proven to be more severe than the single-engine ones. A good example is Canada’s and the US airspace in the past have registered a significant number of fatalities due to accidents in two engine aircraft. All these accidents are usually as a result of one engine failing.

Contrary to this, Single-engine aircraft since they first hit the skies have registered no fatality due to engine failure. This article reviews why the Single engine turboprop is one of the safest general aviation aircraft in the world and other safety tips for your general aviation.

Talking about payload-range capacity, efficient performance, and the ability to adapt to various functionality in addition to simplicity, the single-engine turboprops are a mile above its double engine counterparts. Singles bear this ability due to their manageable weight and lack of drag caused by twin engines.

These facts are evident in tactical aircraft like the Mustangs used in the 2nd World War and the F-16 which had a significantly payload-range compared to the other double engine military aircraft.

When it comes to safety, single engine turboprops are the best of the bunch. The structure of this aircraft is built mainly to keep the passengers safe in case of an accident. It is made up of fuselage longerons, and a stable cockpit. These features are adapted to handle the mass and rotation force of the propeller.

The propeller is reinforced further by a stable tube engine mount assembly made of steel. The well-distributed mass surrounding the occupants works to keep them safe if needed: that is in case of an emergency landing. This is contrary to double engine ones, usually surrounded by fuselage skin staffed with baggage and some avionics to keep passengers safe.

As much as the single-engine turboprop possesses these great qualities to ensure your safety, there many other things to consider to ensure your plane is safe. Below are some factors to consider if you are to fly a safe plane.

How The Plane Handles Heavy Loads

When flying, a good pilot must keep in mind the effects of the family’s extra weight and their luggage. The safety of your family leans on how you handle the plane’s useful load. Useful load includes the pilot’s weight, their passengers and all that they carry, and the fuel weight.

Going over the recommended load by the manufacturer can be fatal to your safety.

Runway

The runway length is also crucial for your takeoff. If you have maxed out your useful load, your plane will take longer to take off. Going over the recommended weight may cause your plane not to take off, and the result might be bumping into an obstruction at the end of the runway.

Centre Of Gravity

The arrangement on your plane is essential. A good pilot should be keen to know the plane Centre of Gravity. This fact is vital in case of an eventuality on air. It would be best if you, therefore, made the weight well distributed around the plane.

While there’s no safest plane for general aviation, sticking to some few things may keep you safe. Do your research. Outlets like Omar Kaddouha medium offer information that helps a lot in keeping your plane safe.

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Omar Kaddouha

Omar Kaddouha, an expert in Aviation Safety of Flights - Director of Flight Safety.