NTSB notes big drop in GA fatalities
By AOPA ePublishing staff
The number of fatalities from general aviation accidents reached a 40-year low in 2007, according to statistics released by the NTSB on April 16. It also marked a 30-percent decrease from the previous year.
There were 491 fatalities last year compared with 703 in 2006, although the total number of GA accidents increased from 1,518 to 1,631 for the same time period.
NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker commented that pilots cannot afford to become complacent. “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,” he said.
“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.”
Online course completions exceed 20,000 each month. In addition, the foundation continues to offer more than 200 live seminars at locations across the country, reaching more than 40,000 pilots.
To keep tabs on safety trends, 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 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.”
April 17, 2008
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