Once again we delve into aviation accidents. The official 2019 numbers won’t be out until November, but the 2018 NTSB release showed there were 1347 accidents with 393 fatalities. The vast majority of these, as we might expect, were general-aviation accidents, with a sizable number of them due to weather. The airlines, charter operators, and medical services didn’t escape unscathed, having logged 72 accidents.
With aircraft continuing to have accidents, there’s still plenty of work to do to emphasize safety. Our focus in Wx Smarts is on the weather picture. And one of the best ways to drive the point home and teach the hazards is using real-life stories about pilots perhaps not unlike you. Our analyses here aren’t specifically about the accidents, but instead about the weather as it played a factor and how the pilot might have safely navigated the existing conditions.
