30,000-foot view of the McSpadden Report

The report, which was previously named after Joseph T. Nall, was renamed after McSpadden, Senior Vice President of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, following his death in a Cessna 177RG accident on October 1, 2023 in Lake Placid, New York. 

The 38th edition of this annual report covers general aviation, aircraft and helicopter accidents from 2022 across the United States. Aircraft or helicopters weighing more than 12,500-pounds, gliders, weight-shift control aircraft, powered parachutes, gyrocopters, UAS, or lighter-than-air aircraft are not included. Accident data is updated on a rolling, 30 day cycle to provide the latest look at general aviation safety. 

Although 2024 has nearly concluded, the NTSB data is only complete through 2022. Processing and investigations take on average, 24 months to complete. 

This year’s report underwent industry standard changes specifically related to non-commercial, fixed wing aircraft. The changes include the addition of fuel, weather, and mechanical cause categories, due to critical, ongoing safety efforts. 

Compared to previous years, the Air Safety Institute reports an overall decrease in accident rates. Since 2013, the accident rate has steadily dropped from 5.22 to 4.3 accidents per 100,000 flight hours. The death rate has also declined from .89 to .68 deaths per 100,000 flight hours. Although there was an increase in total accident numbers from last year, 1,120 in 2021 versus 1,152 in 2022, there was a decrease in fatal accidents, 200 in 2021 versus 181 in 2022. “A big takeaway for the community is we’re less than one fatal accident per 100,000 hours,” said Air Safety Institute Aviation Safety Analysis Manager, Rob Geske. “A large increase in flight activity helped mitigate increases in accidents,” the report stated. “Overall, flight activity increased by more than 500,000 hours in 2022.”

708 of those accidents were pilot related; 117 were fatal. Landing accidents took the problem-child spot in 2022, with 346, followed by takeoff and climb at 212. Other problem areas included mechanical (181), fuel management (100), and loss of control in flight (53). 

When asked what the key is to a downward accident trend, Geske said, “It’s hard to kind of hard to pinpoint the one thing. I think all of us, if we knew what it was we would devote all our resources to it, but overall, we’re seeing the trends in all areas steadily march downward. There’s a few areas of concern that we keep our eye on, particularly engine failure, weather related accidents continue to be some of the most lethal, but really we contribute this to a collective community effort. The GA community is taking safety seriously.” 

Although there was a decline in non-commercial fixed wing and non-commercial helicopter accident rates, there was an increase in commercial fixed-wing and commercial helicopter rates. 

In 2021 there were 61 commercial accidents, 14 of which were fatal. In 2022 there were 62, 9 of which were fatal. However, since 2013, the commercial accident rate has decreased from 2.47 to 1.52, and the death rate from .31 to .22. Most commercial accidents continue to be pilot related. 

“Understanding the risk for the GA pilot can help modify their flying style; give them a better decision making tree as to what they’re willing to do,” said Geske. “The best thing you can do is keep flying and keep training. The goal is to remain proficient, not just legal.”