Accident statistics

Causes of Fatal Accidents by Decade

The first table below was complied from the PlaneCrashInfo.com database, representing 1,085 accidents where a cause could be determined .

The following accident records qualified:
    - Dates from 1/1/1950 to 6/30/2019
    - Aircraft capable of carrying at least 19 passengers
    - Accidents with at least 2 fatalities
    - Military, helicopters and private aircraft excluded

The cause of accidents were broken down into five categories: Pilot Error, Mechanical, Weather, Sabotage and Other. Some examples of each category can be found below. Since most aviation accidents are caused by multiple causes the primary or initiating cause was chosen.

PILOT ERROR	MECHANICIAL	WEATHER	SABOTAGE	OTHER
Improper procedure	Engine failure	Severe turbulence	Hijacking	ATC error
Flying VFR into IFR conditions	Equipment failure	Windshear	Shot down	Ground crew error
Controlled flight into terrain	Structural failure	Mountain wave	Explosive device aboard	Overloaded
Descending below minima	Design flaw	Poor visibility	Pilot suicide	Improperly loaded cargo
Spatial disorientation		Heavy rain		Bird strike
Premature descent		Severe winds		Fuel contamination
Excessive landing speed		Icing		Pilot incapacitation
Missed runway		Thunderstorms		Obstruction on runway
Fuel starvation		Lightning strike		Midair collision caused by other aircraft
Navigation error				Fire/smoke in flight (cabin, cockpit, cargo hold)
Wrong runway takeoff/landing				Maintenance error
Midair collision caused by primary pilot

Fatalities by Phase of Flight

Source: Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, 1959 - 2008, Boeing

Source: OAG Aviation & PlaneCrashInfo.com accident database, 20 years of data (1993 - 2012)

CAUSES OF FATAL ACCIDENTS BY DECADE
DECADE	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	All
Pilot Error	50%	53%	49%	42%	49%	50%	57%	49%
Mechanical	26%	27%	19%	22%	22%	23%	21%	23%
Weather	15%	7%	10%	14%	7%	8%	10%	10%
Sabotage	4%	4%	9%	12%	8%	9%	8%	8%
Other	5%	9%	13%	10%	14%	10%	4%	10%

RAW DATA
Cause	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	All
Pilot Error	82	119	112	67	77	48	28	533
Mechanical	43	62	45	36	35	22	10	253
Weather	25	15	22	22	10	8	5	107
Sabotage	6	9	20	20	13	9	4	81
Other	9	21	31	16	22	10	2	111
	165	226	230	161	157	97	49	1,085

	Odds of being on a fight that results in at least one fatality	Odds being killed on a single flight
Flying on airlines with good safety records	1 in 10 million	1 in 19.8 million
Flying on airlines with poor safety records	1 in 1.5 million	1 in 2.0 million

STATISTICS