AOPA responds to crash report

AOPA President Mark Baker spoke to the network Sept. 8 to express the association's concerns.

Three people were killed Sept. 7 in a collision between two single-engine airplanes, and a witness statement reported to various media outlets by local authorities suggested both aircraft were attempting to land simultaneously. Little is known with certainty in the first hours after any accident. The NTSB investigation had most likely barely begun, if investigators had even arrived on the scene, by the time NBC hit the airwaves with a litany of fragmented facts and grim statistics. The airport has no control tower, and the crash was the “latest in a string of fatal crashes,” the network reported, citing other incidents in recent months in various locations. The report went on to quote selected data including the number of lives lost in GA accidents over the past eight years, and the fact that GA safety remains on the NTSB’s list of “Most Wanted” transportation improvements. (The NTSB has chosen a particular aspect of GA safety for its “Most Wanted” list for several years running.)

Omitted from the NBC report was context including the steady decline in GA accidents, and the decline in GA accident rates, recorded in recent years. The AOPA Air Safety Institute published the twenty-fifth edition of the Joseph T. Nall Report in August, noting unprecedented success in accident rate reduction.

The Air Safety Institute is not alone noting the gains and improvements: The Wall Street Journal wrote in April about a decline in GA accidents; Bloomberg reported in August on indications that technology has helped improve GA safety; Newsday noted in May that despite a local increase in GA crashes, the overall rate of fatal accidents is down.

The government’s experts also have concurred in recent years with the basic assessment that GA safety continues to improve. FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker spoke of progress during a GA safety summit in March, when he highlighted ongoing efforts to further reduce accidents through implementation of new technology. The NTSB noted in 2014 that GA accidents had decreased “in all measures,” based on 2013 accident data.

AOPA is well aware that such context is often lost, or tossed aside, when tragedy strikes in dramatic fashion. Association staff work routinely to educate reporters and news organizations about the successes as well as the challenges of aviation safety, and the imperative to allow experts and investigators to do their work before drawing conclusions about any particular incident. At the same time, the Air Safety Institute draws on lessons that are learned with the completion of thorough accident investigations to keep pilots aware of trends, technology, and practices that are expected to continue improving aviation safety in years to come.