Re: general public\'s perception of \"those little planes\"
Quoting from a NHTSA press release:
Though overall fatalities increased to 42,815 in 2002 from 42,196 in 2001, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) remained at 1.51, a historic low. According to Federal Highway Administration estimates, VMT increased in 2002 to 2.83 trillion, up from 2.78 trillion in 2001.
So, using an average (on the conservative side) of 60 mph for those 100 million miles, that's 1.51 fatalities for every 1.67 million hours, or .091 fatalities for every 100,000 hours. Compared to "2.18 fatalities per 100,000 flight hours" from SierraPilot's post, automobile travel would seem to be much safer on a per hour basis.
I think we're just deluding ourselves by suggesting that GA flight, on average, is safer than automobile travel. You can say that it all depends on the pilot and how safe he/she makes it, but the averages speak for themselves.
Quoting from a NHTSA press release:
Though overall fatalities increased to 42,815 in 2002 from 42,196 in 2001, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) remained at 1.51, a historic low. According to Federal Highway Administration estimates, VMT increased in 2002 to 2.83 trillion, up from 2.78 trillion in 2001.
So, using an average (on the conservative side) of 60 mph for those 100 million miles, that's 1.51 fatalities for every 1.67 million hours, or .091 fatalities for every 100,000 hours. Compared to "2.18 fatalities per 100,000 flight hours" from SierraPilot's post, automobile travel would seem to be much safer on a per hour basis.
I think we're just deluding ourselves by suggesting that GA flight, on average, is safer than automobile travel. You can say that it all depends on the pilot and how safe he/she makes it, but the averages speak for themselves.