Good News, Bad News

In early April, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary 2009 aviation accident statistics. There is good news in the NTSBs numbers, which "show an overall decrease in U. S. civil aviation accidents." Most of the good news belongs to those engaged in on-demand operations under Part 135, which achieved the lowest number of accidents and fatal accidents the industry segment has enjoyed in two decades. Hats off to them. But that good news is tempered once again (see "One," in our May 2009 issue) by a dismal showing among Part 91 operators. And Part 121, scheduled, operators would have had a perfect year except for the February 12, 2009, crash of a Colgan Air Bombardier DHC-8-400 operating as Continental Connection Flight 3407 outside Buffalo, N.Y., which killed 50.

Key Takeaways:

• The NTSB's 2009 preliminary aviation accident statistics showed an overall decrease in U.S. civil aviation accidents, with Part 135 (on-demand) operations achieving their lowest accident and fatal accident numbers in two decades.
• Conversely, Part 91 (general aviation) safety displayed a "dismal showing," as both the overall accident rate and fatal accident rate increased due to a decrease in flight hours, despite a slight reduction in total accidents.
• The article suggests this Part 91 regression is partly due to economic pressures, leading to concerns about pilot proficiency, maintenance shortcuts, or unsafe operational decisions, with the author strongly asserting this trend is unacceptable and requires immediate action.

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