Wed, Feb 11, 2009
Says Experimental Planes 'Have Higher Accident Rates' Than
Other Types
The sentiment among residents and lawmakers in Las Vegas, NV
against homebuilt aircraft has reached the state assembly.
Aero-News has learned State Senator Steven Horsford and
Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick introduced a joint resolution
Monday than, if enacted, would ban all flights by homebuilt
aircraft from North Las Vegas Airport (VGT).
According to documents received by Aero-News, Senate Joint
Resolution 3 urges Congress "to authorize the Clark County
Department of Aviation to ban flights of experimental homebuilt
aircraft to and from the North Las Vegas Airport."
The resolution asserts "experimental homebuilt aircraft have
higher accident rates than other types of aircraft and accounted
for more than 12 percent of airplane accidents nationwide in 2007,"
noting homebuilt planes "have been involved in more than 20
accidents in Clark County since 2003..." and "resulted in the
deaths of several persons on the ground in 2008."
As ANN reported, the latest outcry against
experimental aircraft operating from VGT came following the August
22, 2008 downing of a Velocity 173RG (similar to type shown below),
which claimed the lives of the pilot and two persons inside the
North Las Vegas home the plane impacted. The accident spurred Clark
County Aviation Director Randy Walker to call for all homebuilt
planes to be banned from "busier" airports.
While the NTSB's probable cause report has yet to be issued, preliminary evidence
indicates the accident flight was the first for the plane after the
installation of a non-approved engine supercharger... taking the
aircraft out of its originally certificated approval
parameters.
With just 5.1 hours on the Velocity, it also appears the pilot
was operating the aircraft over North Las Vegas without authority
from an FAA inspector or Designated Airworthiness Examiner. The
plane's logbook showed a notation authorizing operation for the
first 25 hours only over sparsely populated areas, with an
exception granted for the aircraft's home base of Show Low, AZ.
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