The country’s aviation deaths and flight usage both dropped last year, according to a yearly study of U.S. civil aviation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
While less flying resulted in fewer fatalities, the NTSB reported there was cause for concern, particularly in general aviation operations, where many of the fatalities within the industry were found.
NTSB stated that there were no deaths involving Part 121 air carriers in 2020, following two years with airline passenger fatalities. The report stated that in the past decade, there have been seven years without airline passenger fatalities.
“Accidents in on-demand Part 135 operations, which encompass charters, air taxis, air tours and medical services (when a patient is on board), claimed 21 lives in 2020, down from 32 in 2019,” according to the press release.
The organization’s data points to diminished flight activity last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with general aviation operations accounting for many of the industry deaths, the release said. In total, 332 were killed, compared to 414 the year before. The NTSB reports that last year’s fatal accident rate in general aviation was 1.049 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, compared to previous year’s rate of 1.069.
General aviation is a range of activities in all segments of the aviation industry, excluding commercial air carriers and military, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Fight activity in 2020 declined across all divisions of U.S. civil aviation compared to 2019.
Data shows there were no Part 135 on-demand fatal accidents involving U.S.-registered turbojets or turbofans in 2020 and 2019. However, Part 135 commuter operations suffered one fatal accident, which involved a Piper PA32-300 piston single that claimed five people, according to the NTSB study.
It is worth noting that the 2020 statistics consist of investigations that are still ongoing, so they do not specify potential reasons for those accidents and fatalities in the study.
