Safety
Between 1995 and 2004 there were 2,630 accidents involving GA aircraft, of which 139 were fatal, resulting in the loss of 317 lives. The majority of accidents involved small fixed-wing aircraft engaged in private flights, and analysis attributes the most common causes of these to: flight handling skills; poor judgement or airmanship; lack of training or experience; and omission of, or inappropriate, action.
| Type | Total Accidents | Fatal Accidents | Total Fatalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeroplane | 1,622 | 107 | 196 |
| Helicopter | 246 | 31 | 71 |
| Balloon | 49 | 1 | 1 |
| Airship | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Glider | 430 | n/a | 38 |
| Gyroplane | 31 | n/a | 8 |
| Microlight | 251 | n/a | 23 |
| Totals | 2,630 | 139 | 317 |
There were 27 fatal accidents involving GA aircraft in 2007, resulting in the loss of 48 lives. These compare with 16 accidents claiming a total of 19 lives the previous year, and although the 2007 statistics are higher than average, they are not exceptional.
Read more about this topic: General Aviation In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the word safety:
“Love no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport
neither, than with safety of a pure blush thou mayst in
honor come off again.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If we can find a principle to guide us in the handling of the child between nine and eighteen months, we can see that we need to allow enough opportunity for handling and investigation of objects to further intellectual development and just enough restriction required for family harmony and for the safety of the child.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“[As teenager], the trauma of near-misses and almost- consequences usually brings us to our senses. We finally come down someplace between our parents’ safety advice, which underestimates our ability, and our own unreasonable disregard for safety, which is our childlike wish for invulnerability. Our definition of acceptable risk becomes a product of our own experience.”
—Roger Gould (20th century)