AVIATION STATISTICS - 1998

Foreword

This document provides users of Canadian aviation safety data with an annual summary of selected statistics on aviation occurrences..

Users of previous versions of this report will notice minor changes compared to the data reported in earlier years. These are partly a result of the TSB data quality assurance program. Moreover, as the database is live, occurrences are continually added and modified. Consequently, the statistics can change slightly over time. The 1998 statistics presented here reflect the TSB database updated as of 30 March 1999.

A number of changes have been made to this 1998 report. A new table, Table 6, has been added to break out the Canadian-Registered aeroplanes involved in accidents by first event and Canadian Aviation Regulations commercial classification of the aircraft, over a 10 year period. Minor changes in data presentation include the addition of more accident events, and more operation types of aeroplanes involved in accidents.

To increase the safety value of the material presented in the TSB Statistical Summary, Aviation Occurrences 1998, readers are encouraged to copy or reprint in whole, or in part, for further distribution (with acknowledgement of the source).

The TSB is an independent agency operating under its own Act of Parliament. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety.

Comments on this document may be forwarded to the following address:

Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Safety Analysis and Communications Directorate
Place du Centre
200 Promenade du Portage
4th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1K8

Telephone (819) 994-3741
Facsimile (819) 997-2239

OVERVIEW

ACCIDENTS

General Statistics (Tables 1-2)

• In 1998, a total of 444 accidents were reported to the TSB; 384 of these involved Canadian aircraft other than ultralights (an increase of 8% from 1997). Based on indications of a small increase in flying activity, the accident rate is estimated to have risen from 9.1 accidents per 100,000 flying hours in 1997 to 9.6 in 1998, a figure that is still lower than the 10 to 14 accidents per 100,000 flying hours between 1989 and 1995.

The above 384 accidents involved 315⁽¹⁾ aeroplanes (153 of which were commercially operated) and 56 helicopters. The remainder involved balloons, gliders and gyrocopters.

• The regulator, Transport Canada, classifies commercial aircraft as Airliners, Commuters, Air Taxis and Aerial Work aircraft according to the aircraft size and use⁽²⁾. An estimated 14 Airliners, 10 Commuter Aircraft and 129 Air Taxi/Aerial Work aircraft were involved in accidents in 1998. None of the accidents involving Airliners were fatal; however, there was one fatal accident involving Commuter Aircraft, and 9 involving Air Taxi/Aerial Work aircraft.
• A total of 160 private aeroplanes were involved in accidents, similar to figures recorded in recent years, but considerably lower than totals earlier in the decade. In 1998, 14 such accidents resulted in fatalities.

Aeroplanes operated by the state were involved in two accidents in 1998.

• Helicopters were involved in 6 fatal accidents, resulting in 16 fatalities. Helicopter accident numbers have tended to be stable, at about 50-70 per annum, (except for 34 in 1992). Approximately one-fourth of helicopter accidents occur on air transport operations.

Canadian aircraft (other than ultralights) were involved in 31 fatal accidents in 1998⁽³⁾, which is 28% lower than the 1993-1997 average. In 1998 there were fewer fatal accidents than in any year since the start of the electronic database in 1976. The 83 fatalities and 48 serious injuries in 1998 compare with the previous five-year averages of 87 and 52 respectively.

In 1998, 39 ultralight aircraft and 21 foreign-registered aircraft were involved in accidents in Canada (these figures are fairly similar to the 1993-1997 averages for such accidents). Five of the 1998 accidents involving ultralight aircraft were fatal. There were also 5 fatal accidents involving foreign aircraft; one of these (involving a commercial MD-11 aircraft en route to Europe) resulted in 229 fatalities.

Accidents by Selected Categories (Tables 3 - 8)

Province: The distribution of accidents according to province tends to be stable over time. However, in 1998 there were 41 accidents in Quebec, which is much lower than the 1993-1997 average of 65. Conversely, the 105 accidents in Ontario were higher than the previous five-year average of 87. Accidents also increased measurably in Alberta, to 61 in 1998, in comparison to the previous five-year average of 48.

• Events and Phases: Accidents are frequently classified according to the first event (or abnormal condition) in the sequence that led to the occurrence. In 1998 the most common first events in aeroplane accidents included Take-off/Landing (about one fifth of the total). Power Loss, Collision with Object, and Control Losswere the next most frequent first events. For helicopter accidents, Collisions with Object and Control Loss were the most common first events, each accounting for about one fifth of the total.

The statistics show that the first event leading to an accident varies substantially according to the flight phase of the aircraft involved. For aeroplanes, accidents during the Landing phase account for about one third of total accidents. The most common first event in such accidents are Landing and Control Loss. Almost one quarter of aeroplane accidents occur during the Take-off phase; in these accidents, Control Loss and Power Loss are the more common first events. The En-Route phase accounts for about 17% of aeroplane accidents, Power Loss being the most frequent first event.

The Approach/Landing phase accounted for 26% of the total helicopter accidents, with the most common first event being Control Loss. About 16% of helicopter accidents occur in the Take-Offphase, Control Loss, Power Loss and Collision with Object are common first events. The Hover/Lifting (15% of the total) and Manoeuvring phases (13%) both have Collision with Object as a common first event.

Pilot Licences: First events vary with the licence type of the pilot. Students and Privately Licenced aeroplane pilots are more commonly involved in accidents where the first event is Control Loss or Take-off/Landing/Runway Overrun. Proportionally, Commercial or Air Transport pilots are involved in more accidents related to Landing Gear (or other Component) Failure, than pilots with other licence types.

INCIDENTS (Tables 1, 9 and 10)

Pursuant to TSB mandatory reporting requirements, 782 incidents were reported in 1998 (639 of these involved Canadian aircraft).

In 1998 the most frequent incident types were Declared Emergencies (29%), Collision/Risk of Collision/Loss of Separation (24%), and Engine Failure (22%). The remainder were mostly Smoke/Fire incidents (an increase from 61 in 1997 to 111 in 1998, with most of the increase in the last six months). This increase in Smoke/Fire incidents was not reflected in a proportional increase in accidents related to in-flight fires.

The first event in Declared Emergencies on Canadian aircraft usually involved component failures (Landing Gear, Hydraulic, and Electrical were the more common failures).

Of the total Risk of Collision incidents reported the last two years, most involved aircraft flying in Canada or airspace controlled by Canada. These decreased from 175 in 1997 to 151 in 1998. The majority of Risk of Collision incidents involving Canadian aircraft had Air Traffic Services (ATS) Related or Air Proximity as their first event⁽⁴⁾ in which collision was not imminent.

DEFINITIONS

Aviation Occurrence

1. Any accident or incident associated with the operation of an aircraft;
2. Any situation or condition that the Board has reasonable grounds to believe could, if left unattended, induce an accident or incident described in (a) above.  

Reportable Aviation Accident

An accident resulting directly from the operation of an aircraft where

1. a person sustains a serious injury or is killed as a result of
   1. being on board the aircraft,
   2. coming into contact with any part of the aircraft or its contents, or
   3. being directly exposed to the jet blast or rotor downwash of the aircraft,
2. the aircraft sustains damage that adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft and that requires major repair or replacement of any affected component part, or
3. the aircraft is missing or inaccessible.

Reportable Aviation Incident

An incident resulting directly from the operation of an aeroplane having a maximum certificated take-off weight (MCTOW) greater than 5,700 kg, or from the operation of a rotorcraft having a MCTOW greater than 2,250 kg, where

1. an engine fails or is shut down as a precautionary measure,
2. a transmission gearbox malfunction occurs,
3. smoke or fire occurs,
4. difficulties in controlling the aircraft are encountered owing to any aircraft system malfunction, weather phenomena, wake turbulence, uncontrolled vibrations or operations outside the flight envelope,
5. the aircraft fails to remain within the intended landing or take-off area, lands with all or part of the landing gear retracted or drags a wing tip, an engine pod or any other part of the aircraft,
6. any crew member whose duties are directly related to the safe operation of the aircraft is unable to perform the crew member's duties as a result of physical incapacitation that poses a threat to the safety of any person, property or the environment,
7. depressurization occurs that necessitates an emergency descent,
8. a fuel shortage occurs that necessitates a diversion or requires approach and landing priority at the destination of the aircraft,
9. the aircraft is refuelled with the incorrect type of fuel or contaminated fuel,
10. a collision, risk of collision or loss of separation occurs,
11. a crew member declares an emergency or indicates any degree of emergency that requires priority handling by an air traffic control unit or the standing by of emergency response services,
12. a slung load is released unintentionally or as a precautionary or emergency measure from the aircraft, or
13. any dangerous goods are released in or from the aircraft.

Serious Injury

An injury that is sustained by a person in an accident and that

1. requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within seven days of the date the injury was received; or
2. results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes or nose); or
3. involves lacerations which cause severe haemorrhage, nerve, muscle or tendon damage; or
4. involves injury to any internal organ; or
5. involves second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5% of the body surface; or
6. involves verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation.

ATS Related Event

Any event related to the provision of air traffic control services including, but not limited to, failure or inability to provide service, emergency handling or loss of in-flight separation.

Air Proximity Event

A situationin which, in the opinion of a pilot or air traffic services personnel, the distance between aircraft as well as their positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved may have been compromised.

Commercial Operators

Commercial operators include carriers that offer a "for hire" service to transport people or goods, or to undertake specific tasks such as aerial photography, flight training and crop spraying.

Airliner

An aeroplane used by a Canadian air operator in an air transport service or in aerial work involving sightseeing operations, that has a MCTOW of more than 8 618 kg (19,000 pounds) or for which a Canadian type certificate has been issued authorizing the transport of 20 or more passengers.

Commuter Aircraft

An aeroplane used by a Canadian air operator, in an air transport service or in aerial work involving sightseeing operations, of any of the following aircraft:

1. a multi-engined aircraft that has a MCTOW of 8 618 kg (19,000 pounds) or less and a seating configuration, excluding pilot seats, of 10 to 19 inclusive;b) a turbo-jet-powered aeroplane that has a maximum zero fuel weight of 22 680 kg (50,000 pounds) or less and for which a Canadian type certificate has been issued authorizing the transport of not more than 19 passengers.

Air Taxi/Aerial Work Aircraft

An aeroplane used by a Canadian operator for a on-hire basis that does not satisfy the definition of an airliner or a commuter aircraft.

State Operators

State operators include the federal and provincial governments.

Private Operators

Private operators include individuals flying for pleasure and companies flying for business reasons. Included are flights on which it is not possible to transport people or cargo on a "for hire" basis.

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^1. As some occurrences involve more than one aircraft, users are cautioned to note differences between counts of occurrences and counts of aircraft involved in occurrences. All tables except Table 1 exclude ultralight aircraft; all tables except Tables 1 and 3 also exclude gliders, balloons and gyrocopters.

^2. In 1996 a change in the classification system of commercial aircraft was introduced by the regulator, Transport Canada. Previously, aircraft were classified according to the size of the operation: large commercial airlines, previously classified as Level I carriers, were involved in 3 accidents, involving 4 aircraft, in 1998, while smaller airlines, formerly Level II carriers, were involved in 13 accidents. 1998 was the fifteenth consecutive year that Level I carriers operated without a fatal accident. Level II carriers were involved in one fatal accident in 1998.

^3. In addition to the accidents described above, a collision involving two gyrocopters (included as other aircraft types), resulted in fatal injuries to occupants of each aircraft.

^4. Please refer to the definitions section for explanations of ATS Related and Air Proximity Events.