Aeroplane Accidents in U.S.A.

doi:10.1108/eb029434

1931-08-01 00:00:00

194 AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING August, 1931 A n Analysis of the Causes of Accidents in Civil Flying During the Past Three Years TABLE B DECREAS E in the number of passenger (including accidents of all kinds) as are those fatalities and an increase in the number of Analysis of Accidents d 'ring the three years 1928-1930 employed in scheduled air transportation. The miles flown per passenger fatality in Total number of accidents involved 4,655 tota l number of miles flown by aircraft in non- CAUSES (PER CENT) miscellaneous flying operations for the period July scheduled operations was nearly three times as Personnel, total errors ... ... ... ... ... 56·94 t o December, 1930, is shown in the half-yearly Materiel: grea t as the number of miles flown by air line craft repor t of th e Aeronautics Branch of th e U.S. Depart Total power-plant failures 17·44 in the last half of 1930, but there were 1,116 mis men t of Commerce on accidents to civil aircraft. cellaneous flying accidents, a s agains t 47 in scheduled Total structural failures 7·41 The number of passenger fatalities was 104 and, as Handling qualities ... ... ... ... ... 1·70 operations . A comparison of th e trend in scheduled th e miles flown totalled 56,502,560, the miles flown Instruments ·02 flying, taken from the accident report on scheduled per passenger fatality were 543,294. ai r transport operations in 'th e Air Commerce Total aeroplane failures 9·13 While there was an improvement in th e passenger Bulletin of April 1, 1931, volume 2, No. 19, with Miscellaneous: fatalit y phase of miscellaneous flying, the number tha t for miscellaneous operations is as follows :— Weather 3·96 of accidents, both fatal and non-fatal, increased, Darkness ·38 bringing about a decrease in the number of miles Airport or terrain 5·93 Other 1·92 flown per accident over the corresponding previous Miles flown per accident period. There were 1,116 accidents, involving 2,021 Total miscellaneous causes 12·19 persons, including pilots, members of crews, July- July- July. Decem- Decem- Decem passengers and persons on the ground. Of this Undetermined and doubtful 4·30 ber, 1928 ber, 1929 ber, 1930 total , 258 were fatally injured, 145 were severely Total percentages 100 injured, 277 received minor injuries, and 1,341 were Scheduled operations 121,350 209,739 426,436 no t injured in an y way. Miscellaneous operations ... 74,883 72,165 50,630 Miscellaneous flying, for the purposes of this Th e number of accidents in miscellaneous opera report, is divided into four classes : Miscellaneous NOTE.—Direct comparisons are made for corresponding periods tions is more than twenty times greater than those commercial, pleasure, student instruction, and because weather condition s during the last six months of the calendar reporte d for scheduled air transportation for the year are usually more favourable for flying than during the first experimenta l flying. Miscellaneous commercial six months. sam e period, but this is due primarily to the fact includes such operations as charter flights, aerial tha t there are more miscellaneous aeroplanes in photography , sightseeing, crop dusting, and exhibi operation ; that they fly a greater total mileage Analysis of the causes of the accidents in mis tion flying. Pleasure flying means operation of an d engage in a wider variety of operations. cellaneous operations during the last half of 1930 machines privately owned for pleasure only. showed tha t more tha n half of them were caused by Studen t instruction and experimental flying include Aircraft in miscellaneous operations are flying errors of personnel. Personnel includes both pilots operations implied by those terms. only about one-eighth as many miles per accident an d ground personnel, but ground personnel were TABL E A charged with responsibility for only a fraction of 1 per cent of the total number of accidents. Pilots' January - July-Decem January - errors were recorded as the causes of 53 per cent of January - July-Decem - July-Decem June , 1930 June , 19281 ber , 1928 June , 1929 ber, 1929 ber , 1930 th e accidents in miscellaneous flying in th e last half of 1930 an d other personnel for 0.33 per cent of the Numbe r of accidents involved 395 641 71 3 87 3 917 1,116 total . CAUSE S (PER CENT) Personnel : Pilot — Of other causes, power plant failures accounted 8·8 7 13·3 2 12·8 0 12·1 5 11·1 7 7·1 7 Erro r of judgment for 18.58 per cent of th e accidents, aeroplane failures Poo r technique ... 25·8 0 31·7 5 34·6 6 29 ·78 36 ·85 3 8 ·75 for 11.29 per cent, airport and terrain for 9.01 per Disobedience of orders 4·7 5 2·7 8 1 ·90 4·0 3 2·1 1 1·7 7 Carelessness or negligence 6·60 10·5 7 9·6 6 6 ·73 6·0 7 5·1 1 cent, weather for 3.90 per cent, darkness for 0.65 Miscellaneous ... ·61 ·53 ·58 1·8 7 ·52 ·20 per cent, and other causes for 1.72 per cent. Acci dent s for which no definite causes could be assigned Tota l pilot errors 46·6 3 59·6 0 54·5 6 56·7 2 53·0 0 58·9 5 Othe r personnel— were classified as undetermined and doubtful, and Supervisor y ... ·21 ·36 ·18 ·74 . ·36 0 thi s classification accounted for 1.52 per cent of the Miscellaneous 3·0 6 1·5 3 1 ·55 2·1 1 ·85 ·33 total . 49·9 2 61·3 3 57·4 1 57 ·93 53·3 3 Tota l personnel errors 60·8 4 Of the total number of accidents occurring in Materiel : miscellaneous operations during the 3-year period, Powe r plant— i t was found that the largest percentage—42.23— Fuel system 5·0 5 6·5 1 5·6 7 2·8 8 3·8 7 3·8 4 occurred in pleasure flying, and the next largest, Cooling system ·74 ·90 l·01 ·54 ·23 ·77 Ignition system 4·3 8 2·4 9 2·9 6 1·7 4 1·2 4 1·7 0 38.45, in miscellaneous commercial flying. Student Lubricatio n system ... ·06 3· 8 ·11 ·13 ·43 ·32 instruction was responsible for 15.83 per cent of the Engine structure 1·11 1·4 0 2·14 8·4 9 9·4 2 1·6 9 accidents and experimental flying with 3.49 per Propellers an d accessories ... ... ·68 ·58 ·84 ·78 ·23 ·07 Engine control system 0 ·53 ·06 ·45 ·28 ·40 cent. Details of the analyses of accident causes will Miscellaneous ·45 0 ·28 ·17 ·41 ·67 be found in Tables A and B. Undetermine d 4·8 7 5 ·09 6·9 3 ·84 1·7 9 5·4 8 Th e Accident Board 17·3 4 18 ·42 19·0 0 15·0 4 18·5 8 Tota l power-plant failures 15·7 0 Accident reports are based upon the findings of Structural — ·85 ·53 ·72 Flight-contro l system ·35 ·29 1·0 8 th e accident board of the Aeronautics Branch, Movable surfaces ... ... ... ·35 ·08 ·14 ·43 ·11 ·02 which is composed of two pilots, a flight surgeon, Stabilizing surfaces 0 0 ·14 ·09 ·22 ·09 a n aeronautical engineer, a lawyer versed in air law, Wings , strut s an d bracings 1·0 8 1·8 9 l·06 1·7 4 1·11 ·85 Undercarriag e 1·24 1·6 6 3·0 6 3·7 1 2·8 3 4·3 8 an d a statistician. This board investigates and Wheels , tyres an d brake s ·20 ·09 ·98 1·5 5 1·3 1 2·7 6 determines the causes of all civil aircraft accidents Pontoon s and boat s ·03 0 0 0 ·05 ·09 an d analyses all accidents reported from the field Fuselage , engine mount s an d fittings ·76 ·08 ·36 ·48 ·35 ·18 an d reduces them to their causation factors ex Tail-skid assembly 0 0 0 0 ·16 ·04 ·23 ·33 0 Miscellaneous 0 ·28 ·49 pressed in percentages. One of the chief objects of ·13 Undetermine d 0 ·04 0 ·11 ·27 th e Aeronautics Branch in preparing and publishing 9·6 8 7·2 7 9·2 6 acciden t analyses is t o provide some basis for finding Tota l structura l failures 4·7 4 4·1 9 6·3 1 Handlin g qualities ·56 ·26 2·4 2 2·0 2 1·9 9 1·9 6 way s and means of decreasing the number of air Instrument s 0 0 0 ·06 0 ·07 craft accidents. 9·2 6 11·2 9 Tota l aeroplane failures 5·3 0 4·4 5 8·7 3 11·7 6 Th e study includes statistical tables and graphs Miscellaneous : showing comparativ e analyses of causes of accidents; Weathe r 8·2 2 3·0 4 2·7 0 5·3 8 3·9 0 2·1 9 vital statistics and results of accidents ; fatalities, Darknes s ·73 ·37 ·30 ·06 ·65 ·21 injuries, and non-injuries ; and mileage flown per Airpor t or terrain 7·7 4 2·2 8 2·0 4 9·6 3 9·0 1 3·4 9 Othe r 3·7 4 1·0 2 1·3 5 1·4 6 1·7 2 3·4 1 accident , for the last half of 1930, together with similar data for all previous six months periods 15·2 8 Tota l miscellaneous causes 20·4 3 9·3 0 6·7 1 6·3 9 16·5 3 since January 1, 1928. The statistics for 1927 are 1·2 4 1·5 2 Undetermine d and doubtful 7·0 1 9·71 4·8 1 5·4 4 no t included, due to the fact that the Aeronautics Branc h was at that time still in the process of 100 100 100 100 100 100 organisation, and, therefore, the reports covering tha t period may not be entirely complete. 1 Figures for 1928 includ e a smal l percentage of minor mishaps.

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Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology Emerald Publishing

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$194 AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING August, 1931 A n Analysis of the Causes of Accidents in Civil Flying During the Past Three Years TABLE B DECREAS E in the number of passenger (including accidents of all kinds) as are those fatalities and an increase in the number of Analysis of Accidents d 'ring the three years 1928-1930 employed in scheduled air transportation. The miles flown per passenger fatality in Total number of accidents involved 4,655 tota l number of miles flown by aircraft in non- CAUSES (PER CENT) miscellaneous flying operations for the period July scheduled operations was nearly three times as Personnel, total errors ... ... ... ... ... 56·94 t o December, 1930, is shown in the half-yearly Materiel: grea t as the number of miles flown by air line craft repor t of th e Aeronautics Branch of th e U.S. Depart Total power-plant failures 17·44 in the last half of 1930, but there were 1,116 mis men t of Commerce on accidents to civil aircraft. cellaneous flying accidents, a s agains t 47 in scheduled Total structural failures 7·41 The number of passenger fatalities was 104 and, as Handling qualities ... ... ... ... ... 1·70 operations . A comparison of th e trend in scheduled th e miles flown totalled 56,502,560, the miles flown Instruments ·02 flying, taken from the accident report on scheduled per passenger fatality were 543,294. ai r transport operations in 'th e Air Commerce Total aeroplane failures 9·13 While there was an improvement in th e passenger Bulletin of April 1, 1931, volume 2, No. 19, with Miscellaneous: fatalit y phase of miscellaneous flying, the number tha t for miscellaneous operations is as follows :— Weather 3·96 of accidents, both fatal and non-fatal, increased, Darkness ·38 bringing about a decrease in the number of miles Airport or terrain 5·93 Other 1·92 flown per accident over the corresponding previous Miles flown per accident period. There were 1,116 accidents, involving 2,021 Total miscellaneous causes 12·19 persons, including pilots, members of crews, July- July- July. Decem- Decem- Decem passengers and persons on the ground. Of this Undetermined and doubtful 4·30 ber, 1928 ber, 1929 ber, 1930 total , 258 were fatally injured, 145 were severely Total percentages 100 injured, 277 received minor injuries, and 1,341 were Scheduled operations 121,350 209,739 426,436 no t injured in an y way. Miscellaneous operations ... 74,883 72,165 50,630 Miscellaneous flying, for the purposes of this Th e number of accidents in miscellaneous opera report, is divided into four classes : Miscellaneous NOTE.—Direct comparisons are made for corresponding periods tions is more than twenty times greater than those commercial, pleasure, student instruction, and because weather condition s during the last six months of the calendar reporte d for scheduled air transportation for the year are usually more favourable for flying than during the first experimenta l flying. Miscellaneous commercial six months. sam e period, but this is due primarily to the fact includes such operations as charter flights, aerial tha t there are more miscellaneous aeroplanes in photography , sightseeing, crop dusting, and exhibi operation ; that they fly a greater total mileage Analysis of the causes of the accidents in mis tion flying. Pleasure flying means operation of an d engage in a wider variety of operations. cellaneous operations during the last half of 1930 machines privately owned for pleasure only. showed tha t more tha n half of them were caused by Studen t instruction and experimental flying include Aircraft in miscellaneous operations are flying errors of personnel. Personnel includes both pilots operations implied by those terms. only about one-eighth as many miles per accident an d ground personnel, but ground personnel were TABL E A charged with responsibility for only a fraction of 1 per cent of the total number of accidents. Pilots' January - July-Decem January - errors were recorded as the causes of 53 per cent of January - July-Decem - July-Decem June , 1930 June , 19281 ber , 1928 June , 1929 ber, 1929 ber , 1930 th e accidents in miscellaneous flying in th e last half of 1930 an d other personnel for 0.33 per cent of the Numbe r of accidents involved 395 641 71 3 87 3 917 1,116 total . CAUSE S (PER CENT) Personnel : Pilot — Of other causes, power plant failures accounted 8·8 7 13·3 2 12·8 0 12·1 5 11·1 7 7·1 7 Erro r of judgment for 18.58 per cent of th e accidents, aeroplane failures Poo r technique ... 25·8 0 31·7 5 34·6 6 29 ·78 36 ·85 3 8 ·75 for 11.29 per cent, airport and terrain for 9.01 per Disobedience of orders 4·7 5 2·7 8 1 ·90 4·0 3 2·1 1 1·7 7 Carelessness or negligence 6·60 10·5 7 9·6 6 6 ·73 6·0 7 5·1 1 cent, weather for 3.90 per cent, darkness for 0.65 Miscellaneous ... ·61 ·53 ·58 1·8 7 ·52 ·20 per cent, and other causes for 1.72 per cent. Acci dent s for which no definite causes could be assigned Tota l pilot errors 46·6 3 59·6 0 54·5 6 56·7 2 53·0 0 58·9 5 Othe r personnel— were classified as undetermined and doubtful, and Supervisor y ... ·21 ·36 ·18 ·74 . ·36 0 thi s classification accounted for 1.52 per cent of the Miscellaneous 3·0 6 1·5 3 1 ·55 2·1 1 ·85 ·33 total . 49·9 2 61·3 3 57·4 1 57 ·93 53·3 3 Tota l personnel errors 60·8 4 Of the total number of accidents occurring in Materiel : miscellaneous operations during the 3-year period, Powe r plant— i t was found that the largest percentage—42.23— Fuel system 5·0 5 6·5 1 5·6 7 2·8 8 3·8 7 3·8 4 occurred in pleasure flying, and the next largest, Cooling system ·74 ·90 l·01 ·54 ·23 ·77 Ignition system 4·3 8 2·4 9 2·9 6 1·7 4 1·2 4 1·7 0 38.45, in miscellaneous commercial flying. Student Lubricatio n system ... ·06 3· 8 ·11 ·13 ·43 ·32 instruction was responsible for 15.83 per cent of the Engine structure 1·11 1·4 0 2·14 8·4 9 9·4 2 1·6 9 accidents and experimental flying with 3.49 per Propellers an d accessories ... ... ·68 ·58 ·84 ·78 ·23 ·07 Engine control system 0 ·53 ·06 ·45 ·28 ·40 cent. Details of the analyses of accident causes will Miscellaneous ·45 0 ·28 ·17 ·41 ·67 be found in Tables A and B. Undetermine d 4·8 7 5 ·09 6·9 3 ·84 1·7 9 5·4 8 Th e Accident Board 17·3 4 18 ·42 19·0 0 15·0 4 18·5 8 Tota l power-plant failures 15·7 0 Accident reports are based upon the findings of Structural — ·85 ·53 ·72 Flight-contro l system ·35 ·29 1·0 8 th e accident board of the Aeronautics Branch, Movable surfaces ... ... ... ·35 ·08 ·14 ·43 ·11 ·02 which is composed of two pilots, a flight surgeon, Stabilizing surfaces 0 0 ·14 ·09 ·22 ·09 a n aeronautical engineer, a lawyer versed in air law, Wings , strut s an d bracings 1·0 8 1·8 9 l·06 1·7 4 1·11 ·85 Undercarriag e 1·24 1·6 6 3·0 6 3·7 1 2·8 3 4·3 8 an d a statistician. This board investigates and Wheels , tyres an d brake s ·20 ·09 ·98 1·5 5 1·3 1 2·7 6 determines the causes of all civil aircraft accidents Pontoon s and boat s ·03 0 0 0 ·05 ·09 an d analyses all accidents reported from the field Fuselage , engine mount s an d fittings ·76 ·08 ·36 ·48 ·35 ·18 an d reduces them to their causation factors ex Tail-skid assembly 0 0 0 0 ·16 ·04 ·23 ·33 0 Miscellaneous 0 ·28 ·49 pressed in percentages. One of the chief objects of ·13 Undetermine d 0 ·04 0 ·11 ·27 th e Aeronautics Branch in preparing and publishing 9·6 8 7·2 7 9·2 6 acciden t analyses is t o provide some basis for finding Tota l structura l failures 4·7 4 4·1 9 6·3 1 Handlin g qualities ·56 ·26 2·4 2 2·0 2 1·9 9 1·9 6 way s and means of decreasing the number of air Instrument s 0 0 0 ·06 0 ·07 craft accidents. 9·2 6 11·2 9 Tota l aeroplane failures 5·3 0 4·4 5 8·7 3 11·7 6 Th e study includes statistical tables and graphs Miscellaneous : showing comparativ e analyses of causes of accidents; Weathe r 8·2 2 3·0 4 2·7 0 5·3 8 3·9 0 2·1 9 vital statistics and results of accidents ; fatalities, Darknes s ·73 ·37 ·30 ·06 ·65 ·21 injuries, and non-injuries ; and mileage flown per Airpor t or terrain 7·7 4 2·2 8 2·0 4 9·6 3 9·0 1 3·4 9 Othe r 3·7 4 1·0 2 1·3 5 1·4 6 1·7 2 3·4 1 accident , for the last half of 1930, together with similar data for all previous six months periods 15·2 8 Tota l miscellaneous causes 20·4 3 9·3 0 6·7 1 6·3 9 16·5 3 since January 1, 1928. The statistics for 1927 are 1·2 4 1·5 2 Undetermine d and doubtful 7·0 1 9·71 4·8 1 5·4 4 no t included, due to the fact that the Aeronautics Branc h was at that time still in the process of 100 100 100 100 100 100 organisation, and, therefore, the reports covering tha t period may not be entirely complete. 1 Figures for 1928 includ e a smal l percentage of minor mishaps.$

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Aeroplane Accidents in U.S.A.

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