A surprising thing happened on the way to reducing the accident rate in general aviation. It seems we might actually be doing it. The most compelling statistic to me is that over the course of the first six months of fiscal 2014, fatal accidents were down sharply. If the trend continues, the GA fatal accident rate is on track to decline more than 50 percent for the entire year compared to 2013. At this rate, the fatal accident rate will drop down to around .80 accidents per 100,000 hours, an unprecedented figure. While some say that lower flight hour totals might be causing this apparent uptick in "safety" (fewer hours flown equaling fewer accidents), the evidence seems to point to flight hours being only slightly down over the same time period. The leading driver of flight hours, fuel prices have remained relatively steady over that time, supporting the premise that pilots are flying about as much this year as they did last.
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