Between 2009 and 2018 in the United States, part 121 airline carriers had an accident every 628.9K hours flown with 11 fatalities. Part 135 charter operations had an accident every 125.9K hours flown with 45 fatalities. Part 91 general aviation had an accident every 1.87K hours flown with 13,297 fatalities. Why is there such a steep spike in the accident rate of general aviation? One of the biggest differences I've seen between flying professionally and non-professionally is the frequency and quality of training. Part 135 charter operations and Part 121 air carriers typically require their pilots to attend recurrent training every six months, with a check ride at the end of each training event. To maintain PIC currency in Part 91, you only need a flight review every 24 months, unless you're operating an airplane that requires two crew members or is turbine powered. In that case, you'll need a 61.58 proficiency check every 12 months. But it isn't just the frequency of training that helps to keep the accident rate low among the carriers; it's the quality of the training.
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