Hazards of mountain flying: crashes in the Colorado Rockies.
Between 1964 and 1987, 232 airplanes crashed within 50 nautical miles of Aspen, CO; 90% were general aviation crashes. A total of 202 people died and 69 were seriously injured. The societal cost averaged more than $4 million annually. Most pilots were experienced and many were flight instructors, but 44% had flown less than 100 hours in the type of plane in which they crashed. Forty-one percent of the pilots were out-of-state residents. Crashes in the study area were more likely to be fatal than in the rest of Colorado. Airplanes with three or four occupants and low-powered four-seater aircraft were over-represented among crashes involving failure to outclimb rising terrain. In a subset of crashes examined for restraint use, 50% of the front seat occupants using only lap belts were killed, compared to 13% of those who also wore shoulder restraints. Preventive recommendations include shoulder restraint use and better training in mountain flying, with incentives provided by the FAA and insurance companies.
Baker
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Injury Prevention Center, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
Lamb
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D000060:Accidents, Aviation / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000401:Aircraft; D003120:Colorado; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011361:Professional Competence; D012622:Seat Belts; D014887:Weather