GAARMS V, the fifth General Aviation Accident Reduction and Mitigation Symposium, is scheduled for Saturday morning, March 19^th , from 9:00AM to Noon, in the large auditorium -ARAVA 110  - on the ASU campus at the Williams-Gateway airport. 

GAARMS is a major joint safety initiative by the Arizona Pilots Association (APA), The Arizona Safety Advisory Group (ASAG) and the Scottsdale FSDO Safety Program, for the Arizona-based and trained pilot community.  As a member of APA, it is one of the many benefits we offer. We strongly urge you to attend, and to bring a “Wingman”!  Stay tuned and watch for more information this month on our web site.  It will also be distributed/announced via email in Late February/early March as a FAA safety program with WINGS credits.  

At the GAARMS symposium, we will be dissecting the two fatal accidents that occurred in-state (Arizona) during calendar year 2015, as well as the two fatal out-of-state accidents involving Arizona-based aircraft. All four of the accidents involved Arizona-based pilots. To the best of my knowledge, none were APA members, and none of them ever attended an APA safety program or seminar.  While GAARMS will (attempt to) go deep into the accidents, in a nut-shell, there were three accidents that occurred during the takeoff phase of flight. Two are still actual causes unknown, and the third one was categorized as a Loss of Control, an apparent, but not verified, low level stall. (One should never be too quick to pass judgment, or assume anything about an accident is simple, until ALL the facts are uncovered.) The fourth, the recent helicopter crash, is also cause unknown.  All of these accidents will be analyzed, scrutinized, and sanitized, so we can present them to you without any finger-pointing or blame.  The intent is to educate you about what and how it happened, NOT who to blame, so that you can learn from others’ mistakes.  That is a critical part of flying – and life – learning from other folks’ mistakes, because none of us will live long enough to make all of them ourselves!

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