

The Dangers of Private Planes - larrys
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/opinion/The-Dangers-of-Private-Planes.html?mabReward=RI%3A7&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0

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dalke
"Because the rules are looser for general aviation than for commercial planes,
the risks are much higher."

Isn't that also because the full risk analysis should be weighted by the
number of people involved? That is, "general aviation aircraft average nearly
seven accidents per 100,000 flight hours, compared with an average of 0.16
accidents per 100,000 hours for commercial airlines", which is about a 42x
difference. But each commercial flight averages more people than general
aviation. While I don't know the numbers, even 10x makes the two modes much
closer.

By the same token, we have higher standards on bus and truck drivers than we
have on standard passenger drivers.

I don't want to suggest that GA is safe as commercial flights, or even cars.
But I think a better comparison (from 2004) is at
[http://www.meretrix.com/~harry/flying/notes/safetyvsdriving....](http://www.meretrix.com/~harry/flying/notes/safetyvsdriving.html)
. It's conclusions, based on rather fuzzier numbers than 2 decimal places
would suggest, is:

\- driving: 1.32 fatal accidents and 1.47 fatalities per 100 million miles

\- airlines: .05 fatal accidents and 1.57 fatalities per 100 million miles

\- GA: 7.46 fatal accidents and 13.1 fatalities per 100 million miles

