Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Plane crash rate dropped in 2004
By Leslie Miller, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 | 1 comment(s)
WASHINGTON - The number of civil aviation accidents in the United States fell by 8 percent last year, according to preliminary statistics released Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that civil aviation accidents declined from 1,864 in 2003 to 1,715 last year. There were also 9 percent fewer deaths in 2004 - 635, down from 695 the year before.
"There is a single strong common thread among safety that's woven among every aspect of aviation, from the design of the aircraft through the systems on board to the training the pilots receive," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Greg Martin. "The payoff is the safest three years in aviation history."
Most aviation fatalities resulted from accidents involving private planes and on-demand air taxis, but the overall accident rate for both kinds of aircraft has been improving over the past few decades.
Martin said the aviation community has been taking safety lessons learned from heavy transport aircraft and applying them to smaller planes.
There were 68 accidents involving air taxis, or charter planes, last year, seven fewer than the 75 reported the year before. The number of people who died in air taxi accidents rose 55 percent last year, to 65, from 42 the previous year.
The accident rate, however, fell from 2.56 per 100,000 flight hours in 2003 to 2.21 in 2004. That was just slightly worse than the best year ever for air taxis, 1998, when the accident rate was 2.03 per 100,000 flight hours.
Paul Czysz, professor emeritus of aviation and engineering at St. Louis University, said one reason for the improving safety record of charter planes is that more experienced pilots are now flying them.
"What you're seeing is a lot of military pilots come into the pilot market, especially the Navy pilots, who are trained to fly in all kinds of ungodly weather and put that thing down on that postage stamp," Czysz said. He also said pilots from large airlines, which have been cutting their work forces, are now flying on-demand aircraft.
Private planes were also involved in fewer crashes last year. The accident rate fell from 6.77 per 100,000 flight hours to 6.22, the lowest recorded by the NTSB since it began keeping statistics in 1975. There were 1,715 general aviation accidents in 2004, down from 1,864 the year before.
The FAA's Martin said the agency has learned much about improving general aviation safety from the Capstone Project, which adopts modern aviation technology in Alaska, where people travel on small private planes.
An improving economy also mean pilots are flying newer, safer aircraft, Martin said.
There was only one fatal crash of a scheduled U.S. airline in 2004. On Oct. 20, a Corporate Airlines twin-engine turboprop crashed into the woods on approach to the Kirksville Regional Airport in Missouri, killing 13 people.
---
On the Net:
National Transportation Safety Board: http://www.ntsb.gov
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that civil aviation accidents declined from 1,864 in 2003 to 1,715 last year. There were also 9 percent fewer deaths in 2004 - 635, down from 695 the year before.
"There is a single strong common thread among safety that's woven among every aspect of aviation, from the design of the aircraft through the systems on board to the training the pilots receive," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Greg Martin. "The payoff is the safest three years in aviation history."
Most aviation fatalities resulted from accidents involving private planes and on-demand air taxis, but the overall accident rate for both kinds of aircraft has been improving over the past few decades.
Martin said the aviation community has been taking safety lessons learned from heavy transport aircraft and applying them to smaller planes.
There were 68 accidents involving air taxis, or charter planes, last year, seven fewer than the 75 reported the year before. The number of people who died in air taxi accidents rose 55 percent last year, to 65, from 42 the previous year.
The accident rate, however, fell from 2.56 per 100,000 flight hours in 2003 to 2.21 in 2004. That was just slightly worse than the best year ever for air taxis, 1998, when the accident rate was 2.03 per 100,000 flight hours.
Paul Czysz, professor emeritus of aviation and engineering at St. Louis University, said one reason for the improving safety record of charter planes is that more experienced pilots are now flying them.
"What you're seeing is a lot of military pilots come into the pilot market, especially the Navy pilots, who are trained to fly in all kinds of ungodly weather and put that thing down on that postage stamp," Czysz said. He also said pilots from large airlines, which have been cutting their work forces, are now flying on-demand aircraft.
Private planes were also involved in fewer crashes last year. The accident rate fell from 6.77 per 100,000 flight hours to 6.22, the lowest recorded by the NTSB since it began keeping statistics in 1975. There were 1,715 general aviation accidents in 2004, down from 1,864 the year before.
The FAA's Martin said the agency has learned much about improving general aviation safety from the Capstone Project, which adopts modern aviation technology in Alaska, where people travel on small private planes.
An improving economy also mean pilots are flying newer, safer aircraft, Martin said.
There was only one fatal crash of a scheduled U.S. airline in 2004. On Oct. 20, a Corporate Airlines twin-engine turboprop crashed into the woods on approach to the Kirksville Regional Airport in Missouri, killing 13 people.
---
On the Net:
National Transportation Safety Board: http://www.ntsb.gov
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines