Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
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Table 2-10: U.S. Commuter Air Carriera Safety Data

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  1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Total fatalitiesd 37 37 6 77 21 24 25 9 14 46 0 12 5 13 0 2 0 0 2 0
Total seriously injured persons 14 14 11 31 7 2 6 17 2 1 2 2 7 4 0 1 0 0 1 0
Total accidentse 38 18 15 23 23 16 10 12 11 16 8 13 12 7 7 2 4 6 3 3
Total accidents, fatal 8 7 3 8 7 4 3 2 1 5 0 5 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 0
Aircraft-miles (millions) 192 301 450 434 508 555 594 550 591 246 51 52 45 43 42 47 47 46 (R) 47 47

Rates per 100 million aircraft-miles 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Fatalitiesb 19.27 12.30 1.33 17.75 4.13 4.33 4.21 1.64 2.37 18.70 0.00 22.90 11.13 30.16 0.00 4.22 0.00 0.00 (R) 4.30 0.00
Seriously injured persons 7.29 4.65 2.44 7.14 1.38 0.36 1.01 3.09 0.34 0.41 3.94 3.82 15.58 9.28 0.00 2.11 0.00 0.00 (R) 2.15 0.00
Total accidentsb,c 19.79 5.98 3.33 5.30 4.33 2.89 1.68 2.18 1.86 6.50 15.76 24.81 26.70 16.24 16.81 4.22 8.55 13.12 (R) 6.45 6.44
Total accidentsb,c, fatal 4.17 2.33 0.67 1.84 1.38 0.72 0.50 0.36 0.17 2.03 0.00 9.54 2.23 4.64 0.00 2.11 0.00 0.00 (R) 2.15 0.00
Aircraft departures (thousands) 1,777 2,561 3,160 2,820 3,115 3,602 3,581 3,220 3,515 1,394 707 672 604 558 513 572 538 527 (R) 568 570

Rates per 100 thousand aircraft departures 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Fatalitiesb 2.08 1.44 0.19 2.73 0.67 0.67 0.70 0.28 0.40 3.30 0.00 1.78 0.83 2.33 0.00 0.35 0.00 0.00 (R) 0.35 0.00
Seriously injured persons 0.79 0.55 0.35 1.10 0.22 0.06 0.17 0.53 0.06 0.07 0.28 0.30 1.16 0.72 0.00 0.17 0.00 0.00 (R) 0.18 0.00
Total accidentsc 2.14 0.70 0.47 0.82 0.71 0.44 0.28 0.37 0.31 1.15 1.13 1.93 1.99 1.25 1.36 0.35 0.74 1.14 (R) 0.53 0.53
Total accidentsc, fatal 0.45 0.27 0.09 0.28 0.22 0.11 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.36 0.00 0.74 0.17 0.36 0.00 0.17 0.00 0.00 (R) 0.18 0.00
Flight hours (thousands) 1,176 1,737 2,342 2,292 2,335 2,638 2,784 2,628 2,757 983 354 343 370 300 274 319 302 (R) 300 (R) 301 302

Rates per 100 thousand flight hours 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Fatalities 3.15 2.13 0.26 3.36 0.90 0.91 0.90 0.34 0.51 4.68 0.00 3.50 1.35 4.33 0.00 0.63 0.00 (R) 0.00 (R) 0.66 0.00
Seriously injured persons 1.19 0.81 0.47 1.35 0.30 0.08 0.22 0.65 0.07 0.10 0.57 0.58 1.89 1.33 0.00 0.31 0.00 (R) 0.00 (R) 0.33 0.00
Total accidentsc 3.23 1.04 0.64 1.00 0.94 0.61 0.36 0.46 0.40 1.63 2.26 3.79 3.25 2.33 2.56 0.63 1.32 (R) 2.00 (R) 1.00 0.99
Total accidentsc, fatal 0.68 0.40 0.13 0.35 0.30 0.15 0.11 0.08 0.04 0.51 0.00 1.46 0.27 0.67 0.00 0.31 0.00 (R) 0.00 (R) 0.33 0.00

KEY: R = revised.

2007 data are preliminary

a Air carriers operating under 14 CFR 135, scheduled service. Includes accidents involving all-cargo air carriers when those accidents occurred during scheduled 14 CFR 135 operations. Before Mar. 20, 1997, 14 CFR 135 applied to aircraft with 30 or fewer seats. Since Mar. 20, 1997, 14 CFR 135 includes only aircraft with fewer than 10 seats. This change makes it difficult to compare pre-1997 data with more recent years' data.

b Data updated by rounding to two significant digits instead of one.

c Rates are based on all accidents, including some that involve operators not reporting mileage or other traffic data to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

d Total fatalities for 1991 on U.S. air carriers oprating under 14 CFR 135, scheduled service do not include the 22 persons killed aboard a large-certificated aircraft when it colllided with a commuter aircraft.

e An attempted suicide case in 1992 is included in accidents but excluded in accident rates in this table.

NOTES

Miles, departures, and hours are compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration. Rates are computed by dividing the number of fatalities, serious injuries, total accidents, and fatal accidents by the number of miles, departures, or flight hours. These figures are based on information provided by airlines to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information.

SOURCES

Fatalities, accidents, aircraft-miles, aircraft departures, and flight hours:

1980: National Transportation Safety Board, Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data: U.S. Air Carrier Operations, Calendar Year 1980, NTSB/ARC-83/01 (Washington, DC: January 1983), tables 26 and 40.

1985-2007: Ibid., Internet site www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Table 8.htm as of Apr. 23, 2008.

Serious injuries:

1980-85: Ibid., Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data: U.S. Air Carrier Operations (Washington, DC: Annual issues).

1990-2007: Analysis and Data Division, personal communications, Nov. 15, 2002, June 9, 2003, Apr. 23, 2004, Apr. 4, 2005, Apr. 21, 2006, Apr. 18, 2007 and Apr. 24, 2008.