Summary

Despite a series of recent crashes, the safety record of military aircraft has improved significantly during the past 20 years. Accidents dropped from 309 in 1975 to 76 last year, while fatalities declined from 285 to 85 during the same period. Human error was reported as a contributing factor in 73 percent of these flight mishaps. This report discusses (1) historical trends in aircraft accidents involving deaths or extensive aircraft damage, (2) investigations performed to determine the causes, and (3) examples of actions taken to reduce the number of aviation accidents.

GAO found that: (1) Department of Defense (DOD) aviation safety has improved significantly over the last 21 years; (2) between fiscal years (FY) 1975 and 1995, for example, the annual number of Class A mishaps decreased from 309 to 76, while the number of fatalities decreased from 285 to 85; (3) during this period, Class A mishaps per 100,000 flying hours, referred to as the mishap rate, also decreased from about 4.3 to 1.5; (4) the value of Class A losses remained fairly constant over the last 6 years, ranging from a high of about $1.6 billion in FY 1993 to a low of $1.2 billion in FY 1994; (5) although DOD requires that the services report and investigate Class A aviation mishaps, service requirements differ as to who convenes the investigation board and who participates as voting members; (6) for example, until recently only the Army required safety center investigators as voting board members; (7) past GAO and Air Force studies have questioned the independence of the investigators because of their organizational ties to the mishap command; (8) the Air Force has recently directed changes to enhance the independence of its investigations; (9) each of the services have taken steps to reduce aviation mishaps, such as tracking mishap investigation recommendations and disseminating safety information in manuals, newsletters, videos, and messages; (10) recent safety initiatives include risk management and human factor studies; (11) the Army, for example, is developing a series of profiles for predicting whether an aviation training mission is low, medium, or high risk; (12) a subsequent system will provide guidance for assessing operational risks and reducing them to acceptable levels; (13) in FY 1994 and 1995, human error was reported as a contributing cause in 73 percent of the Class A flight mishaps; (14) however, in a 1994 report examining its historical flight mishap data, the Air Force found no direct correlation between operating tempo and safety mishaps; (15) in 1995, the Air Force Blue Ribbon panel reported some evidence connecting pace of operations to aviation safety; and (16) service statisticians, however, told GAO that the relatively low incidence of Class A flight mishaps makes it difficult to draw inferences and identify statistical correlations of variables with mishap rates.