The data shows that the largest category of EAB mechanical failures leading to an accident were engine related and fuel system related. Auto conversion engines had a higher failure rate than other 4-stroke engines.
Structural failures are pretty low in EABs but not non-existent. Aeroelasticity (flutter) caused airframe failures are usually catastrophic. Many structural failures are caused by pilot error - over-G, over speed causing flutter. One notable recent weak design was the Zenith 601 which did have some failures before design changes were made. Interestingly, there has never been a major structural failure in KRs on the NTSB database when I analyzed KR accidents. There have been a few fatal crashes due to loss of control after canopy malfunctions in KRs. Ron Wanttaja does great analytics on EAB safety and accidents. One of his reports that gives a good overview is linked here http://www.wanttaja.com/eaa23.pdf Adam Deem On Tue, Dec 23, 2025 at 8:38 PM Kayak via KRnet <[email protected]> wrote: > I have not had time to fact check this but it looks like it could be > credible... speaks to need to check what we buy in the way of completed or > partial kits > > this "article" claims that GA aircraft failures are more often engine > internal. and Exp failures lean toward structural/build fails... > > > -- > KRnet mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet >
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