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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 2-14. U.S. General Aviationa Safety Data

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 2-14. U.S. General Aviationa Safety Data

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  1960d 1965d 1970d 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999P
Total fatalities 787 1,029 1,310 1,252 1,239 956 767 786 857 736 R725 734 632 R643 R623 628
Total seriously injured persons N N 715 769 681 483 402 429 391 383 408 395 359 365 R330 325
Total accidentsb 4,793 5,196 4,712 3,995 3,590 2,739 2,215 2,175 2,073 2,039 R1,994 2,053 R1,908 R1,853 R1,909 1,908
Fatal 429 538 641 633 618 498 443 433 446 398 R403 412 360 R353 R365 342
Flight hours (thousands) 13,121 16,733 26,030 28,799 36,402 28,322 28,510 27,678 24,780 22,796 22,235 24,906 24,881 R25,464 26,796 27,080
Rates per 100,000 flight hoursc                                
Fatalities 6.00 6.15 5.03 4.35 3.40 3.38 2.69 2.84 3.46 3.23 R3.26 R2.95 2.54 R2.53 R1.95 2.32
Seriously injured persons N N 2.75 2.67 1.87 1.71 1.41 1.55 1.58 1.68 1.83 R1.59 1.44 1.43 R1.23 1.2
Total accidents 36.53 R31.05 R18.10 R13.87 R9.86 R9.66 R7.77 R7.85 R8.36 8.94 R8.96 R8.23 R7.67 R7.28 R7.12 7.05
Fatal 3.27 3.22 2.46 2.20 R1.70 R1.75 1.55 1.56 1.80 1.74 R1.80 1.64 1.45 R1.39 R1.36 1.26

a U.S. registered civil aircraft not operated under 14 CFR 121 or 14 CFR 135. Accidents on foreign soil and in foreign waters are excluded. Suicide/sabotage cases included in accidents and fatalities but excluded from accident rates in this table are: 1985 (3 accidents, 2 fatal accidents); 1990 (1,0); 1995 (4,3).
b Since April 1995, the National Transportation Safety Board has been required by law to investigate all public-use accidents, increasing the number of NTSB reported general aviation accidents by approximately 1.75%.
c Rates are computed by dividing the number of fatalities, serious injuries, total accidents, and fatal accidents by the number of flight hours.
d Data for 1960, 1965, and 1970 include air taxi.

KEY: N = data do not exist; P = preliminary; R = revised.

NOTE: Flight hours are estimated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration.

SOURCES:
Fatalities, accidents, and flight-hours:
1960-70: National Transportation Safety Board, Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data: U.S. General Aviation, Calendar Year 1970, NTSB/ARG-74/1 (Washington, DC: April 1974), table 117.
1975-80: Ibid. Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data: General Aviation, Calendar Year 1985, NTSB/ARG-87/03 (Washington, DC: October 1987), table 21.
1985-99: Ibid. Internet site www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Table10.htm, as of May 10, 2000.
Serious injuries:
1970-94: National Transportation Safety Board, Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data: General Aviation (Washington, DC: Annual issues).
1995-99: Ibid. Analysis and Data Division, personal communications, 1996; 1997; 1998; and Mar. 28, 2000.