Recently released by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI), the 31st Joseph T. Nall Report found that fatal accident rates in non-commercial and commercial fixed-wing aircraft and commercial helicopters all rose in 2019 while rates fell for non-commercial helicopters. The report noted that while the total number of accidents for the year decreased, overall accident rates increased also slightly. As previously reported by AVweb, last year’s edition of the Nall Report found an overall accident rate of 4.56 per 100,000 hours and a fatal accident rate of 0.74 per 100,000 hours in 2018.
“The overall total and fatal accident rates for 2019 saw an upward trend finishing with a total accident rate of 4.88 per 100,000 hours and a fatal accident rate of 0.88 per 100,000 hours,” ASI stated in the report. “The main driver for accident rate increases was fewer flight hours in fixed-wing aircraft compared to the previous year.”
The report found that stall and loss-of-control events continued to be the leading cause of accidents in 2019, further noting that “weather-related accidents remain highly lethal.” The Nall Report analyzes general aviation accident data for airplanes with maximum rated gross takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less and helicopters of all sizes. Accident data is updated on a rolling 30-day cycle.
The complete 31st edition of the Joseph T. Nall Report can be viewed here.
