NTSB reports spike in U.S. aviation fatalities in 2018

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In a report released by the National Transportation Safety Board last week, the agency tracked civil aviation deaths over the course of 2018 — findings that pointed to an increase year over year.

In 2017, such deaths reached 347. Over the course of 2018, they reached 393. Most of these took place during general aviation operations, which accounted for 381 of those killed last year. Such figures also saw a rise in the fatal accident rate overall, which bumped to 1.029 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, over 2017’s rate of 0.935. They also included the nation’s first airline passenger death since 2009, which resulted from an engine failure on a Southwest airliner.

“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,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. “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.”

Part 135 operations refer to charters, air taxis, air tours and medical services. Those operations killed 12 lives in 2018, a decrease over the previous year. Still, the NTSB has, in recent years, investigated some of these accidents for what they call glaring safety deficiencies.

What these figures do not yet reveal are detailed, potential reasons for the spike in deaths. The NTSB notes efforts to address aviation safety, including a Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, but specifics behind recent fatalities remain to be seen.