2008 Nall Report - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

2008 NALL REPORT
Summary
• A historic low of 252 fatal accidents (down 5.6
percent from the previous year) was recorded. The
449 total fatalities also represent a new low, decreasing
by 9.7 percent.
• The rate for fatal accidents of 1.18 per 100,000
flight hours shows marked improvement over the
previous six years, but still misses the historic low
set in 1999 (1.11).
• Total pilot-related accidents in 2007 showed a
slight increase over the previous year, with a gain
of 2.4 percent for total (996 vs. 973) and a decrease
of 11.6 percent for fatal (191 vs. 216) accidents.
• In 2007, personal flights accounted for 39.4 percent
of general aviation flying, but a disproportionate
69.1 percent of total accidents and 72.9 percent
of fatal accidents.
• The high proportion of accidents suffered by less
experienced pilots was not excessive relative to the
overall numbers of pilots with comparable levels of
experience.
• Forty-one of the 50 weather-related accidents
were fatal. Nearly half of all weather-related accidents
resulted from pilots attempting to continue
VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions
(IMC).
• Maneuvering remains one of the leading causes
of general aviation accidents with 91 total and 51
fatal accidents.
• Fatal descent and approach accidents dropped
sharply from 13.9 percent of the fatal crashes in
2006 to 8.7 percent in 2007.
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