Aerobatics peer review The ATSB found no evidence of the pilot undertaking a peer review of their aerobatic performance in the 15 months prior to the accident. A peer review, as suggested by Civil Aviation Advisory Publication 155-1(0) Aerobatics has the potential to help a pilot maintain safety margins in lowlevel aerobatic routines, and may have assisted the pilot avoid inadvertently breaching their minimum approved aerobatics height. However, there was insufficient evidence to determine if the of the peer review influenced the development of the accident. Aircraft flight manual The Civil Aviation Safety Authority did not require amateurbuilt experimental aircraft to have a flight manual or equivalent placards. The ATSB found no evidence that a flight manual or equivalent placarding was produced for the aircraft following flight testing. The lack of a flight manual was unlikely to have influenced this accident due to the pilot's familiarity with the aircraft. This familiarity was a result of their experience building, test flying and operating the aircraft. However, as evidenced by the recommendations made to the United States Federal Aviation Administration by the National Transportation Safety not having a flight manual increases the risk associated with amateurbuilt experimental aircraft operations. Without a flight manual the builder, other pilots and especially subsequent owners do not have reference to operational and performance data necessary to safely operate the aircraft. Given that accidents involving amateurbuilt aircraft occur at a significantly higher rate than comparable factorybuilt aircraft, a requirement to document important operational information would be a valuable safety enhancement.
Aerobatics peer review The ATSB found no evidence of the pilot undertaking a peer review of their aerobatic performance in the 15 months prior to the accident. A peer review, as suggested by Civil Aviation Advisory Publication 155-1(0) Aerobatics has the potential to help a pilot maintain safety margins in lowlevel aerobatic routines, and may have assisted the pilot avoid inadvertently breaching their minimum approved aerobatics height. However, there was insufficient evidence to determine if the of the peer review influenced the development of the accident. Aircraft flight manual The Civil Aviation Safety Authority did not require amateurbuilt experimental aircraft to have a flight manual or equivalent placards. The ATSB found no evidence that a flight manual or equivalent placarding was produced for the aircraft following flight testing. The lack of a flight manual was unlikely to have influenced this accident due to the pilot's familiarity with the aircraft. This familiarity was a result of their experience building, test flying and operating the aircraft. However, as evidenced by the recommendations made to the United States Federal Aviation Administration by the National Transportation Safety not having a flight manual increases the risk associated with amateurbuilt experimental aircraft operations. Without a flight manual the builder, other pilots and especially subsequent owners do not have reference to operational and performance data necessary to safely operate the aircraft. Given that accidents involving amateurbuilt aircraft occur at a significantly higher rate than comparable factorybuilt aircraft, a requirement to document important operational information would be a valuable safety enhancement.
ao-2014-163-final-report.docx