Loss of Control (LOC-I)

How to Stay Safe?

Stay safe and enjoy flying!

This section addresses important safety risks in General Aviation.
Several risks will be addressed starting with Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I).

For each type of risk, a fact sheet and complementary data describe subject importance and various non-regulatory materials provide tips to mitigate the risk and avoid having an accident.

Material include safety leaflets and brochures, videos, posters and Safety Information Bulletins (SIBs).  Material have been developed by EASA, the European Strategic Safety (ESSI), National Aviation Authorities, associations, industry and other stakeholders. Getting acquainted with this material will help you stay safe and enjoy your flight.

Explore aircraft stall recovery

Loss of Control In-flight in GA

Loss of control in flight is loss of aircraft control while, or deviation from intended flightpath, in flight. Loss of control inflight is an extreme manifestation of a deviation from intended flight path.
LOC-I accidents often result from failure to prevent or recover from stall and upset.
Stall and upset result from poor energy and attitude management, degradation of aerodynamic performance due for instance due to icing or structural failure, weight and balance issues, turbulences, wind-shear and bad weather (affecting airflow).
Loss of control may result from factors affecting piloting performance such as inadvertent entry into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) by non-Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) qualified pilots leading to spatial disorientation, and perceptual illusions (for instance when taking off over see at night with poor visual references).
Loss of control can also result from inappropriate manual control inputs or poor automation management often leading to “automation surprises”. Failure to recover loss of control may induce acute stress. Stress can develop over time and downgrade manual and mental performance so much that pilots can freeze at the controls or repeat unsuitable recovery actions.
Stall and upset must be avoided in the first place and pilots should be able to recover should stall and upset however occur.

How important is LOC-I risk in GA?

Loss of Control In-flight is the most frequent and most deadly type of accident in GA.
There are approximatively 37 fatal LOC-I accidents per year in Europe leading to 67 persons on average losing their lives every year due to LOC-I (for fixed-wing aircraft only), and take-off and landing phase are particularly risky.

More on risks: GA LOC-I Fact sheet

More data on LOC-I accidents and factors involved in these accidents are provided in the GA-LOC-I fact sheet and analysis reports.

How to prevent LOC-I accidents?

Various non-regulatory materials developed by the Agency or in cooperation with the Agency are presented.

Learn about how to avoid or recover from stall and spin

Learn about icing-related risks and how to avoid icing-related LOC-I accidents

Learn about Degraded Visual Environment (DVE), how to address weather-related risks how to make better decisions

Other links