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Feature Article: Statistics As of October 2001 If you are rushed for time you are eleven times more likely to make a mistake than if you have ample time. Safe travel by airline vs. car favors the car for short distances but beyond 200 miles airplanes are safer. The backswept wing reduces drag because it is aerodynamically a thinner wing. The air flow over a backswept wing causes the airflow to travel a greater distance. The thinner the wing the can fly faster with the actual airflow slower over the wing. Vacuum failure causes average of two fatal accidents per year. Instructional accidents increased 62 percent between 1999 and the year 2000 due to midair and spins. Pilot error cause of 70 percent of non-fatal accidents and 80 percent of fatal accidents. NTSB recommends FAA treat all vacuum failures as emergencies. Over 1/3 of light aircraft accidents are related to landings. Landings result in less than five percent of light aircraft fatal accidents Light aircraft landings damage 500 aircraft per year. 40 percent of all accidents occur during landings Almost 70 percent of this 40 percent are retractables and twins but few fatalities Takeoff and climb accidents are far more likely to result in fatalities. Instructional flying makes up 18 percent of the flying and 14 percent of the accidents Personal flying and aerial application have a poorer accident record than instructional flying Only aerial observati90n, corporate and public use flying have a better fatality record than instruction Twenty percent of twin engine accidents are just because there are two engines. Less than half of non-training twin accidents occur soon after takeoff. It is the surprise that kills. Given speed and altitude, pilot skill is the essential twin-engine ingredient rather than luck. 12 percent of retractable single engine fatal accidents are because they only have one engine. There are always times when a single engine failure has some potential for a serious problem Light singles have better safety record than single retractables or light twins. Half of midairs happen below 500 feet Midairs usually count only half of aircraft involved. 14 planes a year are involved in fatal midair collisions. That's only seven accidents. 75 percent occur below 3000 feet. 75-percent of midairs occurred at combination of formation flying and uncontrolled airports. 81 percent of 'incursions' are essentially non-events. Engine loses 3 percent of power for every 1000 feet of altitude In four year period ending with 2000 over 1300 incursions were reported with three minor accidents. By the age sixty you will need three times the light to see by as you did at 20. Average of 17 IFR aircraft fly into terrain every year. 50-percent of them at night. IFR controlled flight into terrain usually occurs on approach after radar service has been terminated. Visual illusions or disorientation cause 21 percent of IFR approach and landing accidents 1975 ten percent of fatalities had alcohol as factor Late 1990s it was 7.3 percent Illegal drug use now runs at 5 percent DUI and DWI investigation program requires pilots disclose any actions when applying for Antidepressants are not permitted in airmen.. Civil Aviation Security Compliance and Enforcement Branch must also be informed of DUI/DWI actions. A passenger on a commercial airplane could fly every day for 29,000 years before becoming a statistic. Facts have nothing to do with fears. The chance of someone on the ground being injured in a general aviation accident is one is in 50 million. Less than the chance of being hit by lightning. Less that 15% of general aviation accidents are from mechanical failure. Most general aviation incursions are not classed as serious and with little risk of causing an accident. Public use airports are closing at a rate of two a month.= 24 per year. There are more than 2000 current pilots over 80; 30 pilots are over 90; oldest is 99 Nearly 20 percent of Tomahawk accidents derive from the stall/spin; 14 percent from PA-28 140 10 percent from C-150 with the C-172 only slightly lower. The C-182 and Piper Warrior are a fraction over 4 percent. 1975 ten percent of fatalities had alcohol as factor Late 1990s it was 7.3 percent Illegal drug use now runs at 5 percent DUI and DWI investigation program requires pilots disclose any actions when applying for medical. Civil Aviation Security Compliance and Enforcement Branch must also be informed of DUI/DWI actions. 1998 Greater use of autopsy gave more 'pilot incapacitation' as factor Half of engine failure fatal accidents were mechanical with 40% of them twins. (Skewing of statistics) Of retractables 43 percent of fatal accidents were twins. Homebuilts had more fatal accidents that all retractables. There is no basis for deciding the better engine between Lycoming and Continental. A turbo engine will last longer the lower it flies. Leaning is more likely to damage a turbo engine than a normally aspirated engine. Driving is seven times safer than flying. 2000 Statistics Year 2000 Fatal accident rate was the lowest since recorded history began in 1938. According to the data, the fatal accident rate at 1.11 accidents per 100,000 hours flown during 1982 made a 44-percent improvement over the 1982 of the 591 fatals compared with 341 in 2000. 90-percent decrease in rate per 100,000 hours of flying since 1938 Weather-judgment error accidents dropped nearly 50-percent from '98 to '99. 18-percent of flying was flight instruction with only 5-percent of the fatalities. ( http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2001/01-1-065.html ). 10% of IFR accidents occur to non-IFR pilots. VFR to IFR is the #1 pilot killer Make one IFR approach and proceed to alternate for best risk reduction. The second most frequent cause of death for airline pilots before 60 is a G.A. accident Pilot population peaked at 827,000 in 1980 and is now down to 635,000 now but rising with nearly 6% women. Half of all accidents happen to pilots with less than 100 hours in type. More than half of mid-air accidents involve pilots with less than 100 hours in type. One in ten accidents of all causes happened to pilots with less than 50 hours in type. The average total time of pilots involved in icing accidents is over 3000 hours. Icing accidents of experienced pilots occur at airports and are usually survived. Icing accidents of inexperienced pilots are usually off-airport and fatal. Fatal accidents due to power situations result 15% of the time at night Fatal accidents due to power situations result 19% of the time in daylight 25% of the dayling accidents were in homebuilts and warbirds. Twins were in a high percentage of the night accidents. If you have fuel and good maintenance, engine failure at night is a small risk. Last Modified January 13, ©2026 TAGE.COM Related Links Featured Articles Illusions - Natural Illusions Night Illusions Mountain Accidents Retractables Flight Instruction/Proficiency Requirement Tight Grip VS Light Touch Performance Sheet ASEL Landing Illusions 1999 Was A Very Good Year River Flying with Steep Turns Music and Flying Safe Operation It's About Judgement IFR Flying Faults Fatalities and Survival More Flight Training Articles... Student Kudos "Fantastic site, I look forward to using it to help me study for and determine when I am ready to take my test. I thank you for your efforts to share this for free to student pilots. If is obvious that you have put significant time and effort into its development." - Terry Hansen