It's ironic that most general aviation pilots consider a possible engine failure as their greatest fear. Students constantly practice for it, there are countless debates about whether turning back to the airport or going straight ahead is right, and most of us start looking for places to land the minute our wheels leave the ground. But hard statistics show us that a mechanical failure is exceedingly rare. Most pilots will never see an engine failure in their flying lifetime. Much more sinister-and more likely-is a midair collision. The 2010 Nail Report on aviation safety sheds light on GA midair collisions, which occur most often in good weather. In fact, 87% of them happen in day VFR conditions. They account for nearly 42% of descent/approach accidents, and most often occur near the airport. Most aircraft involved in midair collisions are engaged in recreational flying, and not on any kind of flight plan. Collisions happen mostly on weekends, with the vast majority occurring near nontowered airports and below 1,000 feet. They occur mostly from behind, or at a slight angle, not head-on. Since 2000, the number of midair collisions annually has remained in the teens and 20s, though 2009 was an unusually quiet year with 10 of them. Compared to other accident causes, midair collisions are relatively rare, but when they do occur, they're almost always fatal (seven out of the 10 in 2009). Given the lethality of these types of accidents, all pilots should have traffic avoidance on their minds. Today, we have two methods of avoiding midair collisions; one is the "see and avoid" concept, and the second is the Traffic Collision Avoidance System ("TCAS" for short).
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