Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) is making a strong comeback as a major killer in commercial aviation accidents, particularly when it comes to turboprop aircraft, according to Jim Burin’s Year in Review presentation at Flight Safety Foundation’s 65th annual International Air Safety Seminar (IASS) held in October in Santiago, Chile.
Jim, the Foundation’s director–technical programs, is writing a detailed 2012-in-review article that will appear in an early 2013 issue of AeroSafety World, so I don’t want to steal his thunder, but his presentation piqued my interest on a number of levels.
According to Jim’s presentation, which draws on data, some of it preliminary, from Ascend and other sources, four of the 14 major, large commercial jet accidents in 2011 were CFIT. The number of major commercial jet accidents this year is down to four (through Oct. 22), but two are CFIT. Through Oct. 22, there have been 13 major accidents in 2012 involving commercial turb…
