death by air

Causes of Fatal Accidents by Decade (percentage)

Cause 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s All  Pilot Error 41 37 29 30 31 30 33  Pilot Error  (weather related) 11 17 15 16 19 19 16  Pilot Error (mechanical related) 7 3 4 4 6 3 4  Total Pilot Error 59 57 48 50 56 52 53  Other Human Error 4 7 10 6 7 9 7  Weather 14 11 10 12 9 8 11  Mechanical Failure 20 19 21 21 21 25 21  Sabotage 3 4 9 10 7 6 7  Other Cause 0 2 2 1 1 0 1

The table above is compiled from the PlaneCrashInfo.com accident database and represents 1,843 fatal accidents involving commercial aircraft, world-wide, from 1950 thru 2006 for which a specific cause is known. Military, private plane, helicopter and small air taxi accidents are not included.

"Pilot error (weather related)" represents accidents in which pilot error was the cause but brought about by weather related phenomena. "Pilot error (mechanical related)" represents accidents in which pilot error was the cause but brought about by some type of mechanical failure. "Other human error" includes air traffic controller errors, improper loading of aircraft, fuel contamination and improper maintenance procedures. Sabotage includes explosive devices, shoot downs and hijackings. "Total pilot error" is the total of all three types of pilot error (in yellow). Where there were multiple causes, the most prominent cause was used.
Source: PlaneCrashInfo.com

Accidents and Fatalities by Phase of Flight

Source: Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, Boeing

Which type of flying is safer?

Type of Flight Fatalities per 100,000 flight hours Airliner (Scheduled and nonscheduled Part 121) 0.089 Commuter Airline (Scheduled Part 135) 0.067 Commuter Plane (Nonscheduled Part 135 - Air taxi on demand) 1.230 General Aviation (Private Part 91) 2.305

Sources: NTSB Accidents and Accident Rates by NTSB Classification 1997-2006

Odds of being involved in a fatal accident

Odds of being on an airline flight which results in at least one fatality	Odds of being killed on a single airline flight
Top 25 airlines with the best records  1 in 6.06 million	Top 25 airlines with the best records  1 in 10.46 million
Bottom 25 with the worst records  1 in 546,011	Bottom 25 with the worst records  1 in 723,819

Source: OAGback Aviation Solutions & PlaneCrashInfo.com accident database, 1988 - 2007

Survival rate of passengers on
aircraft carrying 10+ passengers

Decade % surviving 1930s 21 1940s 20 1950s 24 1960s 19 1970s 25 1980s 34 1990s 35 2000s 24

Survival rate of passengers on aircraft ditching during controlled flight

53%

Source: PlaneCrashInfo.com accident database