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Photo from NTSB docket on Oct. 17 crash involving a de Havilland Tiger Moth Mk II in Greeley, South Carolina. The pilot and pilot-rated passengers were uninjured, the plane suffered substantial damage.The AOPA renamed its annual Air Safety Institute Accident Report to honor the late Richard McSpadden, who held a position as the Senior Vice President of the AOPA ASI. The 33rd report was renamed to honor the friend and colleague who was killed in a plane crash on Oct. 1, 2023 at Lake Placid, New York. McSpadden is remembered for his efforts to improve aviation safety and engaging content.RELATED STORIES:Witnesses describe engine sounds before deadly crash that killed Senior VP of AOPA Air Safety InstituteSenior VP of AOPA Air Safety Institute killed in plane crash
Formerly the Joseph T. Nall Report, the Richard G. McSpadden Report relays date updated on a rolling 30-day cycle, accessing analysis as far back as 2008 and data trends well into 2023. The executive summaries for a given period can provide important insight and comparisons for selective dates versus previous years. These summaries show an overall decrease in accident rate and a look at how the rate of accidents has changed since the boost of in flight activity since 2020. The accident rates in non-commercial fixed-wing, commercial fixed-wing and commercial helicopters dropped but the non-commercial helicopter rates increased.
Stalls and loss-of-control events remain a leading cause of crashes. Weather continues to be a highly lethal factor in aviation accidents. Researching trends and particular causes of accidents, particularly related to pilot decision-making and proficiency, can help inform the industry where additional education and training are required to improve aviation safety. Knowing and understand the trends and causes of crashes can help new pilots and students to learn and develop safer flying practices or a better understanding of risks they may face.
With one month left in 2023, the data is still preliminary. As of Nov. 29, 2023, the total number of GA accidents between 2014 and 2023 has dropped, from 1,154 total accidents in 2022 to 717 by late November 2023. The number of fatal accidents has had a far less significant reduction, only dropping by 64, from 183 in 2022 to 119 in 2023. The total accident and fatal accident rate for 2022 and 2023 is not listed, but in 2021 it states a 4.28 total accident rate and a 0.77 total fatal accident rate.
In 2023, non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft suffered 600 accidents, for 604 aircraft (each aircraft involved in an accident is counted separately) and with 102 fatal accidents. The lethality percentage is 17 percent and these accidents resulted in 167 fatalities. The number of accidents as of late November 2023 is down from 967 total accidents and 157 fatal accidents in 2022. There was one pilot-related accident, 27 mechanical, 415 other/unknown and 157 null. For the number of fatal accidents, none were pilot-related, two were mechanical, 91 were other/unknown and nine were null.
The top aircraft involved in non-commercial fixed-wing accidents were single-engine fixed-gear, which covered over 50 percent of the total accidents with 303, and 53 fatal accidents at 51 percent of the total for the year. Single-engine retractable encompassed 17.5 percent with 106 total and 26.2 percent of the fatal accidents with 27. Multiengine aircraft covered six percent of the total crashes with 36 and 13.6 percent of the fatal accidents with 14.
The non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft involved in accidents were flown for various operations including business, personal and aerial observation. The highest number were personal flights, encompassing 74 percent of total accidents with 445, 77.5 percent of fatal accidents with 79 ad 72.4 percent of fatalities with 118. Instructional flights saw 19.7 percent of the total accidents with 118, 11.8 percent of the fatal accidents with 12 and 14.1 percent of the fatalities with 23. The remaining number of accidents were from aerial application, public use, positioning, aerial observation, business, executive/corporate, other work use and unknown operations.
Of the total number of accidents, 75.8 percent, or 455, occurred during Day VCM flight conditions. Day VMC flights also had 5.9 percent of the fatal accidents with 68 and 6.1 percent of the fatalities with 106 reported. Other conditions include Night VMC, Day IMC, Night IMC and Unknown. The pilots involved in these crashes included ATP, commercial, private, sport, student, other/unknown, second pilot on board, CFI on board or IFR pilot on board (which include single-pilot flights). The highest number of accidents were contributed to other/unknown pilots with 72.2 percent of the total accidents at 436 and 99 percent of the total fatal accidents with 102.
Commercial fixed-wing saw 47 total accidents with 48 aircraft, seven fatal accidents, 14 fatalities and a lethality of 14.9 percent. The number of total accidents dropped from 60 total and nine fatal in 2022 and is the closest to the 55 total in 2019 we have seen since the Pandemic. These accidents were operated as Part 135 charter or cargo or Part 137 aerial application. The flight conditions and pilots involved saw similar statistics to with the percentages and totals for non-commercial fixed-wing accidents, with more other/unknown pilots flying in Day VCM flight conditions.
Non-commercial helicopter accidents total 44 with 45 aircraft for the year so far, including five fatal accidents and 11 fatalities with a lethality at 11.4 percent. The percentage of total accidents dropped significantly from the 2022 report, with a close to 50 percent reduction from the 83 total accidents and 13 fatal accidents in 2022. The majority of these accidents were in an unknown aircraft class, the other percentage split between single-engine reciprocating and single-engine turbine. The majority of these flights were personal and the rest included firefighting, instructional, public use, positioning, aerial observation and business. Like the other categories, the majority of these accidents were flown in Day VMC flight conditions, with 81.8 percent of the total at 36 percent. The pilots involved were mostly other/unknown with 75.6 percent at 34.
Commercial helicopters saw fewer than the non-commercial copters, with 26 total accidents and 26 aircraft. There were five fatal accidents and nine fatalities with a lethality of 19.2 percent. Like non-commercial helicopters, the year difference saw a close to 50 percent drop. The total in 2022 was 44 and the total fatal accidents was 6, compared with the 26 and 5 for 2023 so far. The aircraft classes include Part 133, Part 135 and Part 137, with the unknown categories leading. For external load Part 133 and charter or cargo Part 135 and Part 137 aerial applications, Day VMC conditions were in the lead again.
The Fixed-wing amateur built accident trend lowered, from 153 total accidents and 26 fatal accidents in 2022 to 84 total and 17 fatal in 2023. The types of aircraft involved include E-LSA, single-engine fixed-gear, single-engine retractable and multiengine. Of the 84 total, single-engine fixed-gear took 77.4 percent of the total with 65 and 82.4 percent of the fatal accidents with 14.
While the number of aviation accidents is trending down, the goal is always zero. Looking at the trends year-to-year can help groups like the AOPA ASI to determine where education and training need improvement. Looking at the causes and trends of aviation accidents is always a way to teach student pilots the importance of safety and continually learning and improving flying skills.