GA safer than ever despite recent accidents

The latest series of high-profile accidents that started last week included a helicopter crash in New York City, a Cessna 310 crashing after takeoff in Florida, and a Mitsubishi MU–2B crashing in upstate New York while attempting a second approach.

“Our hearts are broken for the families of those who died in these recent accidents,” said AOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President Mike Ginter. “Aviation safety is under a microscope by the public at large, and understandably so. While it’s important not to speculate on what caused these crashes until the NTSB has completed their investigations, it’s also important to remember that, overall, general aviation has never been safer.”

The AOPA Air Safety Institute has analyzed NTSB data and found that, as of April 13, GA accidents as a whole—and the number of fatal accidents—are both down 21 percent year-to-date when compared to 2024. In addition, the number of fatalities also dropped 16 percent over the same period.

The Air Safety Institute publishes the Richard G. McSpadden Report annually, which reviews GA accidents and analyzes trends in the data.

“These numbers are no fluke,” Ginter added. “General aviation has seen a declining accident and fatality rate for more than 30 years. Since the early 1990s, the accident rate has dropped 45 percent, and the rate of fatal accidents has fallen even more—55 percent.”

The McSpadden Report breaks down the types of accidents to discover trends in that data as well.

After the helicopter crash in New York City, some have pointed to past efforts by the City Council to shut down helicopter operations at two city-owned heliports. But the data show commercial helicopter flights tend to be safer when compared to other GA operations, even though the accident and fatal accident rates have fluctuated in recent years.

While these data trends are encouraging, many nonaviators still worry they are likely to be injured or killed by a GA aircraft accident while they’re on the ground. But the numbers don’t support that they are likely to be injured or killed.

First, let’s talk about the amount of GA activity. As of 2023, there were more than 214,000 GA aircraft, according to the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey. While it’s impossible to calculate the number of GA flights every day, collectively, the FAA says GA pilots fly 28.5 million hours each year—more than 78,000 hours per day.

Most are recreational flights, but this number also includes tens of thousands of aircraft used for flight training, medical transport, firefighting, and business.

Between 2013 and 2022, NTSB numbers show 25 GA accidents and incidents resulted in someone being killed on the ground. (That number includes cases where the aircraft was also on the ground.) During that same period, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 374,159 people died in vehicle crashes. The odds of being killed by lightning are even greater—between 2013 and 2022, the National Weather Service says 216 people were killed by lightning.

“While general aviation safety has continually improved for more than 30 years, there is always work to be done,” Ginter said. “The AOPA Air Safety Institute is dedicated to improving general aviation safety. That’s been our mission for the past 75 years.  While we have seen considerable progress since then, there is always opportunity for improvement.”

On April 1, the Air Safety Institute—with support from more than two dozen other organizations and the FAA—launched the National Pause for General Aviation Safety. Over a six-month period, pilots are being asked to take a few minutes to focus on safety and review a variety of videos, courses, and articles that cover every type of GA flying. Pilots are encouraged to visit GAsafe.org to learn more.