Aircraft Defects

General Aviation

In terms of accidents, general aviation has far more fatalities per flight hours than any other types of flying. According to NTSB Accidents and Accident Rates by NTSB Classification 1998-2007, there were 22.43 fatalities per million flight hours for general aviation flights. Compare that to 4.03 million during the same time period for commercial airlines. In 2008, the National Transportation Safety Board reported there were 1.25 fatal accidents and 7.11 total accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

A look at NTSB accident investigations reveals that general aviation accidents happen regularly around the country, sometimes three or four in a day.
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Air Ambulance Accidents

The number of air ambulance crashes has increased dramatically in recent years. In fact, a 2009 article in USA Today offered this lead: “Air-ambulance helicopters have the worst fatal crash record in aviation, and their crews are among the most likely to die on the job.”

The article went on to say that “The rate of fatalities per 100,000 air-ambulance employees over the past 10 years exceeds other dangerous professions such as logging or deep-sea fishing.” Since the article was published, even more air ambulances have crashed, resulting in additional serious injuries and loss of life.
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Aircraft Defects

Aviation accidents occur due to a large number of reasons, but aircraft defects consistently are to blame for crashes worldwide. Since the 1950s, at least 20 commercial airline flights per year have crashed due to mechanical failure, many caused specifically by defects in the aircraft, according to PlaneCrashInfo.com.

Aircraft defects—whether they occur in commercial airlines, private aircraft, small planes, jets, or helicopters—are responsible for a number of deaths and serious injuries each year. A recent report in the United Kingdom’s The Press and Journal stated that, "A fault which appears to affect only helicopters operating over the North Sea must now be checked before the first flight of each day following a fresh warning from Europe’s aviation body. In October, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued...
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Commercial Airline Accidents

Commercial airlines fortunately have very good safety records and are regarded as one of the safest forms of transportation. But accidents do happen.

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was scheduled to fly on Jan. 31, 2000, from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle with a planned intermediate stop in San Francisco. Off the California coast, the crew fought to keep the nose of the plane from pitching down. At about 4:20 p.m., the pitch of the plane changed from 2.7 degrees to 70 degrees in less than 15 seconds, and within about a minute the plane hit the water. All 88 people—five crew and 83 passengers—were killed and the plane was destroyed.
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Corporate Aircraft & Private Jet Accidents

In January, the Associated Press reported that, "A Brazilian appeals court has ruled two American executive jet pilots should face negligence charges for a 2006 midair collision that killed 154 people…The executive jet collided over the Amazon with a Boeing 737 on September 29, 2006—killing all aboard the Boeing. Prosecutors accused the pilots of accidentally turning off a transponder that transmitted the smaller jet’s location and failing to follow their flight plan."

In July 2008, a private jet crashed in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all seven on board. Media reports said that, "According to the Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, the Raytheon Hawker 800 jet crashed off the end of the runway while attempting to land at about 9:30 a.m. local time."
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Helicopter, Sightseeing & Special Use Aircraft Accidents

On January 5, 2010, according to National Transportation Board reports, "a Bell 206B, N5016U, collided with power lines near Auberry, California. The helicopter was operated by the California Department of Fish and Game as a public-use, deer surveying flight. The certificated commercial pilot and three passengers were killed. The helicopter was destroyed by post crash fire."

Helicopters involved in tourism, sightseeing, or special uses such as the Fish and Game use as cited above, all have the potential for accidents.

On August 8, 2009, five tourists and the pilot were killed in a midair collision of a sightseeing helicopter and a single-engine plane over...
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Mid-air Collision

Fortunately, mid-air collisions are not particularly common. Unfortunately, on those occasions when it does happen, loss of life is common. On August 8, 2009, nine people were killed in a midair collision of a sightseeing helicopter and a single-engine plane over the Hudson River in New York. According to NTSB reports, “The certificated private pilot and two passengers aboard the airplane and the certificated commercial pilot and five passengers aboard the helicopter and were killed. … Radar data and witness statements indicate that the aircraft collided at 1,100 feet in the vicinity of Stevens Point."

In 2006, according to the Associated Press, “An executive jet failed to follow its flight plan when it collided with a commercial airliner in September, killing 154 people in Brazil's worst air disaster." The article went on to say, “In the September 29 crash...
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Military Aircraft Crash

"Midair collisions are an area of vital concern to everyone who flies an airplane," says the Luke Air Force Base (Arizona) Web site. "The actual number of midair's between Air Force aircraft and general aviation aircraft is relatively low; however, 80 percent of reported Air Force near misses occur with general aviation aircraft."

Crashes with other military aircraft are also a concern. In late October of 2009, according to a New York Times article, "Seven people were aboard the Coast Guard’s C-130 transport plane and two were in the Marine Corps’ AH-1 Cobra helicopter" when a crash occurred at 7:10 p.m. "They were flying 15 to 25 miles east of San Clemente Island, a narrow strip of land off the Southern California coast used by the Navy for training exercises."
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