UK’s AAIB finds a significant reduction of mid-air events after the introduction of FLARM
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recently published their annual safety review for 2023. They observed a significant reduction in mid-air collision events since the introduction of FLARM to the UK’s glider fleet. To quote:
There were 15 collisions between gliders during the period (2003 through 2023, ed.), resulting in 12 of the gliders involved crashing, however all the glider occupants wore parachutes and 10 pilots managed to bale out safely following a collision. Slightly more than half the collisions (8) involved gliders taking part in competitions. The introduction of FLARM (a collision warning system) in the UK glider fleet appears to have significantly reduced the number of collisions between gliders and the 2023 Melton Mowbray MAC event was the first glider-glider collision to have occurred for nine years.
They further comment on the (so far) missing effect of electronic conspicuity (CAP-1391), which was pushed with great effort and cost in the UK:
The mid-air collision rate in the UK is considerably higher, by a factor of four, than in the USA. Again, it would be helpful to understand why this is the case, and whether the introduction of electronic conspicuity has helped to reduce the rate of collisions, as appears to be the case for FLARM in reducing the glider-glider collision rate.
You can download the full report here.
