The GAJSC met this week (Oct. 12) in Washington, DC to review GA safety data, discuss the status of ongoing safety efforts, and deliberate on FAA/industry safety priorities. Among the updates the GAJSC received, FAA reported on the expansion of FAA Aviation Weather Cameras from Alaska to the lower 48 (see Safety Enhancement 12 – “Deploy cost-effective technologies that can provide real-time weather information (including actual conditions as viewed through a remote camera) at remote airports”).
At the meeting, NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart gave remarks on general aviation safety data. NTSB recently published 2015 aviation safety data, which indicates that the general aviation (Part 91) accident rate in 2015 was 1.09 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours, the lowest fatal accident rate on record. In 2015, the NTSB identified 229 fatal general aviation (Part 91) accidents and 7 fatal on-demand commercial (Part 135) accidents. Recently released FAA data suggests that general aviation flying was up approximately 3.7% in 2015 compared to the prior year. The NTSB’s press release, including a link to the 2015 statistical tables showing accidents, fatalities, and accident rates for major segments of U.S. civil aviation, is available here.