
Hard truths about aviation safety, with Douglas Boyd
From Pilot's Discretion from Sporty's by Sporty's Pilot Shop
April 21, 2026 · 44 min · Season 1 · Episode 128
About this episode
Douglas Boyd discusses the current state of aviation safety and shares insights from his research.
The GA accident rate is getting better, but aviation safety researcher Douglas Boyd says there’s still plenty of work to do. He shares a fascinating array of statistics in this episode, pulled from the 300+ papers he has authored, including how many hours is enough to stay proficient, what really causes landing accidents, and the truth about older pilots’ safety record. In the Ready to Copy segment, Dr. Boyd talks about flying out of CG, whether engine TBO really matters, and the best places to visit in Scotland. SHOW LINKS: * Airline vs. GA pilot safety: https://commons.erau.edu/publication/1494/ * Aging pilots study: https://commons.erau.edu/publication/2419/ * PJ2 GPS Radio: https://sportys.com/PJ2GPS
People in this episode
Guest: Douglas Boyd
Topics covered
- aviation safety
- GA accident rate
- pilot proficiency
- landing accidents
- older pilots
- flying out of CG
- engine TBO
Keywords
- aviation safety
- GA accident rate
- pilot proficiency
- landing accidents
- older pilots
- Douglas Boyd
- Scotland
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sporty's Pilot Shop
Products: PJ2 GPS Radio
Books & works: GA accident rate, Aging pilots study
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