Differences in the Severity of General Aviation Accidents by Age: A Preliminary Examination

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

This research utilized the NTSB aviation accident and incident database system from 1982 to 2014 to examine differences in the severity of accidents by age for aviation accidents. Accidents were separated by commercial and general aviation (GA). There were 74,686 entries, after excluding home built aircraft, helicopters, and gliders, consisting of 7,203 commercial and 61,363 GA accidents. For commercial, male pilots made up 97.4%, (mean age = 41.75, (SD=10.88). Female pilots (2.6%), had a mean age of 43.51 (SD=9.71). Ages were significantly different, t(7009)=8.76, pSD=14.63). Damage to the aircraft and injury of crew/passengers as a function of pilot age was examined separately using ANOVA for commercial and GA. For commercial operation, damage levels of none, minor, substantial, and destroyed produced a significant difference by age, F(3, 7197)=40.558, pF(3,60302)=4.06, p=.007. There were significant differences between no damage and substantial (p=.001) and destroyed (p=.005) but no other levels. This study indicated that there are differences in the degree of damage related to aviation accidents based on age. Additional examination of the causes of accidents, and at what age the increase is observed, is needed to ensure aviation safety for aging pilots.

Authors

• Drye, Brandi N. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Mesarosova, Karina Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Walton, Robert Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Politano, P. Michael Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• aviation; safety; age; NTSB