Europe Can No Longer Fly in the Face of Safety Record of Single Turboprops

Ronald Ashford says data supports singles.

Europe could approve single engined IFR commercial operations for turboprops by the end of this year, according to Ronald Ashford, chairman of the Active Analysis Group within the JAA working group for an Advance Notice of Proposed Amendment.

But such commercial flights will likely require two pilots on the flight deck, he added.
"If the final three meetings go well, the findings could become law between September and November this year," he told a recent safety panel.

This will be good news for manufacturers of single engined turbine aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan, Socata TBM 700, Pilatus PC-XII and Piper Meridien, whose sales have been restricted in Europe by the single-engined IFR curbs.

Ashford noted U.S. statistics conclude that single engined turboprop aircraft have a fatal accident rate more than twice as good as light aircraft as a whole. Their accident rate is 2.5 times better than piston twins and similar to twin turboprops. The safety record of the heavily derated P&W Canada PT-6 engines seems finally to have convinced the JAA that safe single-engined flight is possible. Ashford said the "incredible reliability" of these engines can no longer be ignored for single engined turbine operations in Europe.

By Mike Vines