AOPA Leads Coalition in Launching National Pause for General Aviation Safety

The initiative aims to further improve general aviation safety, and encourages every general aviation pilot to take 15-60 minutes in the next six months to sharpen their focus on safe flight operations by reviewing at least one of more than three dozen carefully curated safety videos, articles, and more, at GAsafe.org.

Despite several high-profile accidents this year, general aviation has never been safer thanks to improved cockpit technologies, training methods, programs and tools, regulatory frameworks, and industry collaboration.

In the past 30 years, the general aviation fatal accident rate fell by 60 percent from a high in 1994 of 1.73 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours to only 0.68 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2023. And early data suggests that 2024 was even safer.

“We envision a day with zero fatal general aviation accidents, and we have come a very long way already,” said AOPA President and CEO Darren Pleasance. “We are launching the National Pause for General Aviation Safety now so that we can draw attention to our successes and also refocus our efforts on making general aviation even safer.”

The coalition of more than a dozen pilot organizations, including Vertical Aviation International (VAI), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), are urging their members to go to GAsafe.org and choose from dozens of aviation-safety-related options, to find at least one most relevant to their flying. Pilots can participate in the National Pause for GA Safety individually or in groups. They can earn FAA WINGS credit and receive a digital badge to post to their social media accounts.

“We think it’s important for all pilots to take a moment to think about what safety means to them, and in the context of the operations they fly,” said Pleasance. “Whether you fly low and slow or high and fast, the National Pause for General Aviation Safety will inspire pilots to sharpen their focus on being a safer pilot.”

Mike Ginter, Senior Vice President of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute added, “At ASI, we believe every GA pilot has a responsibility to themselves, their loved ones, the industry, and the public to be as conscientious, disciplined, and deliberate about general aviation safety as possible. Taking this pause will make all of us safer pilots.”

Below is the full list of organizations that are part of the initiative:

• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
• American Bonanza Society (ABS)
• Citation Jet Pilots (CJP)
• Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
• Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
• FAA Safety Briefing
• FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam)
• Flight School Association of North America (FSANA)
• National Air Transportation Association (NATA)
• National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA)
• North American Trainer Association
• National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)
• National Business Aviation Association (NBAA)
• National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA)
• Piper M-Class Owners and Pilots Association (PMOPA)
• Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF)
• Seaplane Pilots Association (SPA)
• Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE)
• The Ninety-Nines, Inc., International Organization of Women Pilots (99's)
• United States Parachute Assoc (USPA)
• Vertical Aviation International (VAI)