"Way ahead of you, Mr. Chairman"; NTSB notes fewest general aviation fatalities in 40 years

“Way ahead of you, Mr. Chairman”; NTSB notes fewest general aviation fatalities in 40 years
AOPA Air Safety Foundation already at work to do even better

The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released the final aviation accident figures for 2007 with the fewest general aviation fatalities in 40 years, with Chairman Mark Rosenker commenting that pilots cannot afford to become complacent.

“That has been our position all along,” said Bruce Landsberg, executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. “And it’s why we intend to roll out more than a dozen new online safety training products in 2008, on top of the 21 we already offer online.”

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation is the only industry organization dedicated exclusively to improving general aviation safety. The foundation offers interactive online safety courses, on topics including weather, GPS, and airspace. Online course completions exceed 20,000 each month. In addition, the Air Safety Foundation continues to offer more than 200 live seminars at locations across the country, reaching more than 40,000 pilots.

In his comments in today’s announcement, NTSB Chairman Rosenker said, “We must continue to take the lessons learned from our investigations and use them to create even safer skies for all aircraft operators and their passengers.” That is how the AOPA Air Safety Foundation has operated for years. The foundation imports NTSB information into its own database of accidents involving aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less, then mines the data to identify trends and problem areas that need to be addressed through either live or online courses.

“For nearly 60 years—more than half the history of powered flight—the AOPA Air Safety Foundation has worked to make general aviation pilots and their passengers safer,” said Landsberg. “But we’re not resting on our laurels. We will continue to develop new ways to help pilots fly more safely, in 2008 and beyond. The proof can be seen at our Web site, www.asf.org.”

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April 16, 2008