Key takeaways from the latest report from the Air Safety Institute show that in 2023 there were 1,097 general aviation accidents in the United States, including 186 that were fatal. The overall accident rate fell to 3.86 per 100,000 flight hours, down from 4.3 in 2022, and the fatal accident rate declined to 0.65 from 0.68 the year before.
aviation accidents
Piper hits deer while landing
Probable Cause: The collision with deer during the landing rollout.
Piper pilot runs out of fuel one mile from airport
Probable Cause: The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Human Factors: Finesse required
So one takeaway from this accident is to concentrate on deliberate, smooth application of throttle — of any lever, dial, or knob on the flight deck, for that matter. We really don’t have anything in our play book that needs to be done at the speed of light and the strength of Superman.
Instructional flight ends in nose-over
Probable Cause: The instructor pilot’s delayed action and over application of brakes which resulted in a nose-over.
Beech pilot forgets to extend landing gear
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing.
Attempted go-around ends in crash
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s improper control inputs and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in a loss of control during an attempted go-around.
Distracted pilot hits hangar
Probable Cause: The distraction of the pilot during the taxi, resulting in a ground collision.
Van’s vs. vulture
Probable Cause: A bird strike to the airplane’s vertical stabilizer during an approach for landing.