Yes. According to the Air Safety Foundation, general aviation aircraft experience about one-tenth as many accidents as cars on a per-vehicle-mile basis. Many of the most common questions about general aviation safety are answered in this article, How Safe Is It?

Is your safety guaranteed at all times as you learn to fly? No. Like all forms of transportation, flying has risks. Pilots mitigate those risks with rigorous training, aggressive maintenance, and the application of new technology.

At TSS, safety is always first. We maintain our excellent safety record by holding our planes and pilots to high operational standards. For example:

• Each TSS aircraft has one Plane Captain who is responsible for all maintenance on that aircraft. Any TSS pilot who notices a problem on a club aircraft tells the Plane Captain who authorizes the necessary repairs.

• All TSS aircraft are inspected annually in accordance with FAA regulations.

• All TSS pilots are checked out annually by one of the club’s FAA certified flight instructors. The FAA requires this checkout only once every two years, but TSS follows its own more stringent annual checkout standard.

• A Safety Officer on the TSS Board of Directors tracks pilot currency and assures that each and every pilot meets FAA and TSS requirements.

• All TSS aircraft are equipped with a variety of monitoring instruments and redundant systems that enhance flight safety. Five of our six airplanes have IFR-certified GPS equipment. GPS database updates are installed on a regular schedule.

• Our four panel-mounted Garmin GPS units are equipped with the latest wide area augmentation system (WAAS) upgrades.

• In addition to the panel-mounted GPS units, TSS owns a portable Garmin 496 GPS unit that any member can reserve and use for VFR navigation, in-flight weather and entertainment courtesy of XM Satellite Radio.