E-AB Accidents at All-Time Low

October 18, 2018 - The 2018 FAA fiscal year ended on September 30, and the experimental fatal accident number came in well below the FAA established not-to-exceed limit for this year. Experimental aircraft were involved in 44 fatal accidents during the fiscal year, with amateur-built aircraft accounting for 33 of those. The not-to-exceed number, based on a one percent reduction in accidents from the previous three-year average, was set at 51 for this year.

This is the fourth year in a row that the accident number stayed well below the FAA’s limit, and the downward trend of fatal accidents in both experimental aircraft and general aviation as a whole continues. Last week we reported that the fatal accident rate for amateur-built aircraft in calendar year 2017 was 2.63 per 100,000 hours, an all-time low.

The continual decrease in accident numbers is the result of EAA’s strong commitment to improving the experimental safety record, but there is still more work to be done. EAA is actively working on a number of safety initiatives with a goal of further lowering the experimental fatal accident numbers.