A study of PA46 accident data suggests three areas of PA46 operations that should receive emphasis to improve safety in the PA46 fleet. We believe that training, understanding, and experience in these areas will drastically reduce accidents in the PA46 fleet. Those areas of emphasis are:

1. Pilot flight experience: Many pilots in the PA46 community are not flying often enough. The flight instructor community notices a direct correlation with piloting ability and recency of experience. Those pilots that average more than 100 hours in the previous year tend to perform well at training events, and those that average less that 100 hours/year in the last year tend to perform less well during training events. There appears to be an exponential decrease in piloting performance for those pilots that average less than 100 hours/year, and a minimal increase in performance for those pilots that fly more than 100 hours/year.MMOPA encourages pilots to fly more than 100 hours/year.
2. Awareness and understanding of the stall/spin accident: A stall/spin accident in a PA46 always results in a fatality. The stall/spin accident is simply unsurvivable in a PA46 due to the high rate of descent in a spin at terrain impact, and a spin from less than 1,000 ft AGL does not allow for sufficient altitude to recover. Oftentimes the stall/spin accident is precipitated by other factors in flight (engine loss of power, autopilot mishandling, icing conditions, skidding turn, etc.), but the end result is always a fatal stall/spin if the pilot mishandles the situation, especially from low altitude.
3. Flight operations in the runway environment: There are far too many accidents in and around the runway, oftentimes during the takeoff or landing phase of flight. These accidents are rarely fatal, often costly, and entirely preventable. They include nose gear collapses, brake failures, crosswind landing mishaps, tire failures, and poor flight technique (improper/poor rudder control and/or drift from centerline) near the runway.

To be awarded any of the MMOPA Master Aviator Program Awards, a PA46 pilot must complete all of the requirements listed in the table “MMOPA Awards Requirements.” Some pilots will have previous PA46 experience (and possibly some other training leading to awarding), which will allow them to progress up the award levels faster. Progressing up the award levels is not intended to be easy. It is intended to be achievable only by those pilots that are committed to regular training and those willing to put forth the resources required to become excellent at piloting a PA46. The ultimate goal is for every pilot to achieve the level of Master Aviator. A pilot that is awarded Master Aviator will have significant experience, specialized training, and an extremely low probability of being an accident statistic. Being an MMOPA Master Aviator is the ultimate in PA46 awarding.

To retain the honor of being an MMOPA Master Aviator year after year, a Master Aviator must have flown 100 hours in the PA46 in the last year and have achieved a new FAA rating (any new rating such as commercial pilot, ATP, CFI, rotorcraft, glider, seaplane rating, etc) or have attended an aviation course in the past year. Some examples of additional training/courses are:

• Dunker/over-water training
• Altitude chamber training
• Advanced aircraft qualification course
• MMOPA Mid-year training, etc
• NBAA Single-Pilot Safety Standdown
• Mountain Training/Backcountry Training
• Aerobatic Training
• Warbird training
• Any military aviation course