Two unfortunate things that will come out of this accident is that the reputations of both carbon composites and kitplanes will both take a hit.
Rush built a Glasair III, which is a very conventional type of two seat airplane. Glasairs have been flying since 1980 so there’s 40+ years of history with an estimated 1200 currently flying. There’s nothing exotic about them (unlike Burt Rutan designs or the “flying telephone pole” Max-Air), they even use a certified Lycoming engine like a “real” airplane. Glasairs are serious airplanes deserving of respect. They are under the Experimental category but they actually follow conventional engineering and rules.
Unlike Rush’s calamitous sub, such two-seat kitplanes are required to adhere to regulations, undergo flight testing, and have regular inspections. Yes, there is a big EXPERIMENTAL painted on the side of the airplane and a plaque in view of any passenger that says EXPERIMENTAL in at least two inch high letters followed by “This aircraft is amateur built and does not comply with the federal safety regulations for standard aircraft”. As someone who flew experimental, amateur-built kitplanes for the better part of 10 years without harm to either myself or anyone else aboard, let me assure that they do have regulations they have to comply with, even if not those for standard aircraft. They require airworthiness certificates before they can carry a passenger. The flight testing also follows rules handed down by the FAA, not whatever random things the builder thinks is OK. Failure to comply means the government might come and take your aircraft away. Also impose penalties. I know pilots who have run afoul of the FAA and the IRS both and of the two they have said they’d rather have the IRS after them.
Of course, there are issues in that community with people who think they know better than physics, think they’re great innovators, and don’t want to follow the rules (either man-made or physics required) which is why I never jumped willy-nilly into one without doing some research, not just on the airplane but also the guy who assembled/owned it. Another respect in which I differ from the average person is that I am actually trained and able to pre-flight (some) aircraft and have enough aviation knowledge to make meaningful decisions about things like safety and weather.
Outside of the airlines I’m pretty damn fussy about who I fly with. And that includes commercial pilots in “real”, factory built airplanes in no way experimental. Caught a lot of heat because I refused to fly with one guy but unfortunately I turned out to be right about him.
There are two aspects to safety in hostile environments: the technology, and the people. Both have to be safe. I question if Rush was a safe person given his attitude and actions.
Yes, well, some of us have hearing problems that make listening to 3 hour podcasts a chore instead of a pleasure, but I know you have no way to know that about me.
Up until now that hasn’t been an issue. That may be changing in some places in the near future. But it’s still a problem that no one has jurisdiction in international waters. That’s exactly why Rush was doing this in international waters. Within US waters (for example) there might actually be regulations and requirements (I’m not up on marine topics like that)