U.S. Civil Aviation Fatalities Increase In 2018

“It is disappointing to see the fatal general aviation accident rate increase after two years with the rate below 1.0 per 100,000 flight hours,” said NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt. “Aviators in both the general aviation and Part 135 communities need to renew their emphasis on building and sustaining a safety culture, and recipients of our safety recommendations in this area need to implement those life-saving recommendations.”

The NTSB’s 2018 statistics show that deaths during Part 135 operations decreased from 16 in 2017 to 12 last year. The board also noted that 2018 included the nation’s first airline passenger fatality since 2009, which occurred when Southwest Flight 1380 suffered an uncontained engine failure.