Table I.
Baseline Commercial Air Tour Crash Characteristics by Outcome (Fatal versus Non-fatal), United States 2000–2011.
| Fatal (n = 30) | Non-fatal (n = 122) | Relative Risk (95% CI) | P-Value* (2-sided) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight Operating Characteristics | ||||
| Aircraft platform | ||||
| Airplane, No. (%)† | 15 (50) | 58 (38) | ||
| Helicopter, No. (%) | 15 (50) | 64 (52) | 1.1 (0.6–2.1) | 0.841 |
| Code of Federal Regulations Part | ||||
| Part 91, No. (%)† | 12 (40) | 59 (48) | ||
| Part 121/135, No. (%) | 18 (60) | 63 (52) | 0.8 (0.4–1.5) | 0.541 |
| U.S. Region | ||||
| Continental States,† No. (%) | 17 (57) | 84 (69) | ||
| Alaska, No. (%) | 4 (13) | 20 (16) | 1.0 (0.4–2.7) | 1.000 |
| Hawaii, No. (%) | 9 (30) | 18 (15) | 2.0 (1.0–3.9) | 0.063 |
| Time of day, Mean (SD)‡ | 12:58 (3:15) | 13:40 (3:07) | n/a | 0.302 |
| Risk Factors§ | ||||
| Aircraft fire, No. (%) | 10 (33) | 9 (7) | 3.5 (2.0–6.3) | <0.001 |
| Instrument meteorological, No. (%) | 22 (73) | 3 (2) | 14.0 (7.0–27.8) | <0.001 |
| Away from airport crash, No. (%) | 27 (90) | 65 (53) | 5.9 (1.9–18.5) | <0.001 |
| Pilot Characteristics | ||||
| Total pilot flight hours, Mean (SE) | 7190 (1912) | 6782 (647) | n/a | 0.841 |
| Pilot shoulder harness used, No. (%) | 17 (57) | 104 (85) | 0.8 (0.3–2.6) | 0.725 |
| Crash Precipitating Factors§ | ||||
| Loss of Power, No. (%) | 5 (17) | 34 (28) | 0.6 (0.3–1.5) | 0.342 |
| Loss of Flight Control, No. (%) | 3 (10) | 11 (9) | 1.2 (0.4–3.3) | 0.729 |
| Improper Maintenance, No. (%) | 2 (7) | 14 (11) | 0.6 (0.2–2.2) | 0.527 |
| Pilot Error, No. (%) | 23 (76) | 77 (63) | 1.7 (0.8–3.9) | 0.261 |
Abbreviations: No. = number of crashes, CI = Confidence interval, SD = standard deviation, n/a = not applicable, SE = standard error
Note: Of the 152 crashes in this study, 5 crash reports (3%) lacked total pilot flight hour data; 13 (9%) lacked pilot shoulder harness data; 5 (3%) lacked loss of power data; 4 (3%) lacked loss of flight control data; 9 (6%) lacked maintenance data, and 7 (5%) lacked pilot error data
P-values were calculated using the t-test with Satterthwaite’s degrees of freedom for continuous variables and the 2-sided Fisher’s exact test for binary variables
Reference group
Time calculated with a 24:00 clock
Total not 100% because some crashes had multiple risk and/or precipitating factors