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My
copy of the 1998 Nall report is getting dog-eared while I try
to find an answer to why pilot "judgement failure"
continues to be prominently implicated in general aviation accident
statistics.
The Air Safety Foundation, a non profit branch of the AOPA (Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Association,) researches and publishes the
report, named after Joseph T. Nall, a pilot and believer in the
value of general aviation.
The writers gather and carefully analyze statistical data about
general aviation based on hours of flight time.
General Aviation (GA) includes hours of personal flying, flying
for business, carrying freight, law enforcement, arial application
(crop dusters, fire fighting and air ambulance.
Statistics specifically not included are those on air carriers
(those operating under FAR Part 121) or charters (operating under
FAR Part 135), or turbojets, aircraft weighing more that 12,500
pounds, helicopters, gliders and balloons.
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1997 Statistics |
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Personal Flight=41.8% of all GA Flying |
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Personal Flight=66.8% of all GA Fatalities |
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Business Flight=14.5% of all GA Flying |
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Business Flight =6.6% of all GA Fatalities |
Personal flight is the largest segment of GA flying at 41.8%
of the total. Business flying is the second largest segment at
14.5%. Personal flying accounts for 66.8% of all fatalities,
while business only 6.6%.
Could the difference in the fatalities between these two types
of flying be connected to how we approach a recreational or personal
activity as distinct from how we approach a business activity?
Businesses require successful results. Decisions are planned,
assessed, executed and reassessed with a successful result the
ultimate goal. What if we approach personal flying of if it were
a business. If we take personal flying out to the "recreational
category" in our brains and approach it a business frame
of mind-perhaps our statistics in the NALL report next year will
reflect a safer year for all of us.
For a complete copy of the Nall Report,
call AOPA Air Safety Foundation at (301) 695-2170 or look them
up on the web at www.aopa.org.asf. ~ Kathleen O'Brien, LGB
SPM |
Digital ChoreoGraphics.
