Nall Report points to Improved GA safety record
Aviation Safety Performance in most segments- data driven
Aviation Safety Institute’s Annual Analysis
Contrary to multiple press reports and not completely appreciated by the NTSB, GENERAL AVIATION SAFETY’s performance is improving and has been improving. The positive trend in other segments of air transportation has been driven largely by the preventative actions identified by the collection, analysis and application of mega data (SMS). GA operators do not have the administrative staffs to enter all of the numbers that are the fuel for the reduction of risks.
However, these small aircraft flyers have benefitted from the Joseph T. Nall Report which may be the oldest quantitative assessment of an industry segment (30 years). This year’s assessment provides macro data supporting the GA improvement AND it announces an improvement in the availability of these instructive numbers.
Past editions have been reviewed here:
Reports Of GA Problems = HEADLINES
GA Safety Record = No News
The 27th Nall Report Has Good News And AOPA ASI Is Pushing For Even Better Safety Performance
The Nall Report, Aviation Industry’s Oldest Quantitative Safety Analysis—28th Report And Who Was Joseph T. Nall
AOPA’s Air Safety Institute Releases Latest Joseph T. Nall Reports
AOPA
Oct 23rd, 2020
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute (ASI) has released the 29th and 30th editions of the Joseph T. Nall Report(his obituary) along with a new platform that provides access to more current accident data in near real-time.
The findings from the 29th and 30th Nall Reports note a continued decrease in overall accident rates. The year 2017 saw a decrease in total accidents from 2016. The overall total and fatal accident rates for 2017 continued its downward trend finishing with a total accident rate of 4.81 per 100,000 hours, and a fatal accident rate of 0.76 per 100,000 hours. Although 2018 saw an increase in total accidents, the good news is that the overall total and fatal accident rates continued its downward trend, finishing with a total accident rate of 4.56 per 100,000 hours and a fatal accident rate of 0.74 per 100,000 hours.
This highly anticipated report comes with several unique enhancements.
First, ASI has completed a major overhaul of the report to provide near real-time accident data analysis as the data are updated on a rolling 30-day cycle. “I am excited that this major effort has significantly accelerated the accident analysis process. This allows us to release the 29th and 30th Joseph T. Nall Reports, which provide a snapshot in time for 2017 and 2018 data, respectively,” said ASI Senior Vice President Richard McSpadden.
“In addition, the new interface allows anyone to select accident analysis graphs for multiple years, from as far back as 2008 to preliminary data trends for 2020. The NTSB takes approximately two years to issue its final findings for accidents, so as we move into 2021, initial accident data rates will also begin populating for the year 2019,” McSpadden said.
ASI’s summaries for a given period provide insight and comparisons of selected dates versus previous years. Please review the summaries for a detailed analysis of trends and rates for non-commercial and commercial fixed-wing operations, non-commercial and commercial helicopter operations, and sport/experimental operations.
Here is the Nall Report comparison of Pilot Errors:
GA has done an excellent job of raising safety awareness, best practices, and proficiency. The trends are excellent and hopefully Nall Report #31 will trace this progress.
