Good News For A Change

Industry sales of new general aviation aircraft are up over last year and the accident rates are down.

Monday, December 25, 2023 at 08:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The general aviation industry reported strong growth in the first nine months of 2023, with GAMA noting increases in aircraft shipments and AEA seeing a significant rise in avionics sales, particularly from the retrofit market.
The AOPA Air Safety Institute's "Richard G. McSpadden Report" (formerly the Nall Report) indicated a downward trend in accident rates for non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft through 2021, despite an increase in overall accidents and flight activity.
Despite declining accident rates, pilot-related factors, predominantly loss of control during landing, continue to be the leading cause of general aviation accidents.

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We’re not back to the go-go years of the late 1970s, and probably never will be, but the general aviation industry seems to be doing just fine, thank you. In the last quarter of 2023, both the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) announced eye-raising year-to-date sales figures for their industry segments.

As of September 30, 2023, according to GAMA, “Aircraft shipments through the third quarter of 2023, when compared to the same period in 2022, saw piston airplanes increase 11.9% with 1,135 units, turboprops increase 14.6% with 439 units, and business jets increase 2% with 455 units. The value of airplane deliveries through the third quarter of 2023 was $14.5 billion, an increase of 2.5%.”