How does general aviation compare with corporate and airline safety records?
Type of Flying Fatal Accident Rate (per 100,000 hours flown) Airlines 0.014 Corporate 0.046 General Aviation 1.37 Source: 2004 Nall Report and Professional Pilot (April, 2005) When you compare the fatal accident rates by type of flying, you will quickly observe that corporate flying has 3 times the fatal accident rate as the airlines. Tragically, you will note that general aviation has nearly 30 times the fatal accident rate of corporate flying and a whopping 100 times the fatal accident rate of the airlines! And remember, 75.9% of all GA accidents are attributed to pilot error. Is there something seriously wrong with primary and advanced flight training? You be the judge! Let’s be fair here . . . As the 2004 Nall Report points out, we general aviation pilots do not have all of the inherent safety advantages as corporate operators or the airlines. GA pilots conduct a wider range of operations. Some of us engage in risky endeavors including crop dusting and banner towing. We often opera
