Fatals Higher In 2014

The NTSB in early August released preliminary general aviation accident statistics for 2014. Sadly, and despite major efforts at the FAA and within industry to enhance safety, the NTSBs preliminary 2014 data show an increase in fatal general aviation accidents, from 222 in 2013 to 253 in 2014. Our calculator says thats a 13.9 percent increase in fatal accidents between 2013 and 2014.

Monday, August 24, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

General aviation experienced an increase in fatal accidents and overall accident rates in 2014, highlighting a stagnation in GA safety improvement over the past decade compared to significant commercial airline gains.
The FAA updated transponder guidance, now requiring pilots to keep transponders on and in altitude-reporting mode in all airport movement areas to enhance surface safety and aircraft detection.
A remote Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower system, manufactured by Saab Sensis, is being piloted at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) to provide non-radar tower services.
Lockheed Martin launched a new service on 1800wxbrief.com that plots reported Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operating areas, helping alert pilots to potential drone activity.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The NTSB in early August released preliminary general aviation accident statistics for 2014. Sadly, and despite major efforts at the FAA and within industry to enhance safety, the NTSB’s preliminary 2014 data show an increase in fatal general aviation accidents, from 222 in 2013 to 253 in 2014. Our calculator says that’s a 13.9 percent increase in fatal accidents between 2013 and 2014.

While the overall number of general aviation accidents dropped slightly—from 1224 in 2013 to 1221 in 2014—”the accident rate for general aviation aircraft increased from 6.26 per 100,000 flight hours in the previous year to 6.74 in 2014,” the NTSB said in a press release. The fatal accident rate is up, also, from 1.12 every 100,000 hours in 2013 to 1.40 in 2014. The graph below summarizes some of the NTSB data, as released in early August.