According to the most recent report of JCAB (Japan Civil Aviation Bureau), about 20-30 aircraft accidents were caused every year since 2002, and approximate half of total accidents are caused in general aviation. General aviation accident rate is about 1.0 percent over the past 5 years. According to accident report, a lot of general aviation accidents are related to low-altitude operation like air rescue, EMS (Emergency Medical Services). In the low altitude operation, ground clearance is very small, so more precise control input is demanded to the pilots. In 2007, there are 2672 aircrafts registered in Japan, and about 1500 aircraft are in general aviation. (*) GA aircraft = [Airplane Piston/Turboprop] + [Helicopter]
Japan is a country having a lot of helicopter which are used for air rescue, patrol and EMS. Particularly EMS helicopter is increasing every year. If the accident rate is not decreased in the future, it is predicted that a number of accidents will be increased.
| Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
Avr. 5 yr. |
|
|
Airplane Piston/Turboprop |
(a) Nr. of Accident | 14 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 10.6 |
| (b) Nr. of Registration | 753 | 740 | 722 | 719 | 721 | 731 | |
| (c) Accident Rate = (a) / (b) [%] | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | |
|
Airplane Jet (Airline) |
(a) Nr. of Accident | 7 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 7.8 |
| (b) Nr. of Registration | 474 | 474 | 485 | 500 | 509 | 488 | |
| (c) Accident Rate = (a) / (b) [%] | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 1.6 | |
| Helicopter | (a) Nr. of Accident | 2 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 5.8 |
| (b) Nr. of Registration | 821 | 801 | 790 | 778 | 773 | 793 | |
| (c) Accident Rate = (a) / (b) [%] | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | |
| Glider | (a) Nr. of Accident | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4.6 |
| (b) Nr. of Registration | 649 | 658 | 659 | 665 | 666 | 659 | |
| (c) Accident Rate = (a) / (b) [%] | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | |
| Total Nr. of Accident | 26 | 34 | 37 | 17 | 30 | 28.8 | |
| Total Nr. of Registration | 2697 | 2673 | 2656 | 2662 | 2669 | 2671.4 | |
| Total Accident Rate [%] | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 | |
In the United States, the civil helicopter accident count for the period is relatively constant at 180 to 200 per year, particularly Emergency Medical Services accidents are increasing. (approximately 10-30 fatalities, 10-20 accidents per year) As a result of this increase in fatal accidents of helicopter, the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) was formed in late 2005 in response to a consensus of government regulators, manufacturers, and helicopter operators at the International Helicopter Safety Symposium (IHSS) in Montreal, Canada. The IHST has set an aggressive goal of reducing the worldwide civil and military helicopter accident rates by 80% in 10 years (by 2016).
IHST recommends several improvement to flight operation to achieve the goal "80% reduction by 2016". The General aviation FDM was created as one component of the Flight Operational Quality Assurance Program (FOQA). Originally it began in the 1960s with airlines and FDM is called FDA (Flight Data Analysis) in Airline company. During past several decade, it was recognized that FDA programs lead to the safety benefits, then currently FDA programs became commonplace at airlines throughout the world. FDM program is an effective risk management tool that allows operators to identify potential risks.
Aircraft pilots review their operations through their every flight and if some safety risks are recognized, they try to improve for their next flight. However unconscious safety risks can't be found by themselves. The primary benefit of FDM is to clarify these kind of unconscious factors, "potential risks". Through graphic playback of their flights, pilots can validate their skills and recognize operational targets which is required for safer flight.
For more informations, please visit Appareo Systems HP.
