Air transportation maintains its title of ‘the safest transportation available’. According to a study at MIT, the number of deaths per passenger boarding is 1 in 7.9 million. Still, no system is infallible, and in 2019, commercial airline crashes were the cause of 257 deaths worldwide. In 2018, a total of 534 fatalities were caused by 13 separate accidents.
But what about general aviation and those common flights conducted such as charters, medical, or private aviation? These flights, which often consist of smaller aircraft than commercial ones, have a much higher crash rate. In the US, for example, the FAA did a study that showed approximately 5 small plane crashes a day, and a fatality every 5.5 days. Does this mean small planes are more dangerous? Not necessarily.
Basically speaking, it isn’t the size of the plane that makes it more or less safe. All certified airplanes are designed within specifications to withstand certain maneuvers and conditions. However, small planes are more affected by severe weather conditions, due to their lower weight and less powerful engines, which could pose a serious danger in the wrong circumstances.
In this article, we’re going to look closer at the most common causes of plane crashes, the danger of turbulence, as well as how airplanes are affected by severe weather conditions.
You’ll also learn which part of the flight that’s most dangerous, and what sets apart small planes from bigger planes, with regards to safety equipment.
Let’s start by looking at some factors that must be taken into account when looking at past mishaps in aviation!
Table of Contents
What causes most plane crashes?
In a short answer, pilot error. According to the FAA, most general aviation fatal accidents are caused by in-flight loss of control (LOC), primarily from aerodynamic stalls. An aerodynamic stall is when the airplane is maneuvered in such a way that it is no longer at an angle or speed to create lift. Lift is the primary force that keeps an airplane flying.
Knowing that pilot error accounts for the majority of plane crashes, the statistics that small planes, often piloted by less experienced pilots, have a higher crash rate makes a lot more sense.
A pilot is required to have 250 hours of flight time to apply for a commercial certificate, and 1500 hours to apply for an airline transportation certificate. On the other hand, student pilots in small Cessnas are sometimes flying solo with as little as 15 hours of experience.
This wide disparity in training, hours flown, and aviation knowledge is the major reason why there are more crashes amongst small planes as opposed to larger ones. However, there are a number of other safety requirements for large commercial flights not required of small planes that also attribute to the crash rates.
What are the safety redundancies in large planes?
Generally speaking, the larger or more complex an airplane, the more redundancies it has in its safety systems. Examples of these include multiple sensors for airspeed, angle of attack (the angle of the wing in relation to the relative wind), and de-icing systems.
These redundancies not only provide pilots with accurate information and better control, they also allow the plane to safely operate on auto-pilot.
Rarely do large commercial airliners lack these safety systems. Although, one recently infamous plane, the Boeing 737 MAX 8, was found to have insufficient redundancies in its sensors that resulted in two fatal crashes within 6 months of one another.
What are the most common pilot mistakes?
As mentioned above, pilot error accounts for the vast majority of airplane crashes. So what are the mistakes pilots are making? They are wide and varied, but because every incident requires a detailed report, this list is a good indicator of what most often goes wrong.
- Loss of control due to aerodynamic stall (meaning the airplane is no longer generating lift and will fall or ‘spin’). Pilots train from day one on recovering an aircraft from a stall, however depending on the current altitude and design of the plane, it can still lead to a crash.
- Inadequate use of checklists. Checklists are used by pilots for every part of the flight. Accidents have occurred in the past because the pilot failed to do pre-flight inspections, flight control checks, or landing checks.
- Controlled flight into terrain or ‘CFIT’. This is often due to low visibility from weather or night conditions, though not always. In mishaps where the pilot flew into something in perfect visibility, the cause is usually complacency or distraction.
- Communication failures. This can be between two airplanes or with the control tower. Instances have even happened where the pilot was aware the plane was running out of fuel, but rather than say so directly to air traffic control, they instead kept requesting permission for a normal landing, right up until a resulting crash.
- Lack of planning, often in regards to the weather. The pilot will end up flying through conditions beyond their skill level or the capabilities of the aircraft. Often, this can be mitigated in the planning phase of a flight, which often begins days before the actual event.
What about turbulence?
Turbulence is a disturbance in the air, caused by passing through a change in surrounding conditions. This can be from a thunderstorm causing updrafts and downdrafts, from air changing directions around natural terrain, or from invisible changes such as the gulf stream.
In general, the only danger posed by turbulence is the impact caused to unsecured passengers when the plane suddenly drops from hitting an air pocket. Otherwise, it is extremely rare for an airplane to be negatively affected by even the most extreme turbulence.
While turbulence is one of the leading causes of flight anxiety among passenger, it is almost never the cause of structural damage to the airplane. Again, when this does happen, it is due to lack of proper inspection and preparation before the flight takes place.
Does turbulence affect a small plane more than a large one?
Sometimes, but generally only under certain conditions. All aircraft are constructed to withstand more than their normal operating capabilities and so the torque caused by turbulence is not likely to cause structural damage to any aircraft.
However, small planes are lighter and are fitted with weaker engines, which generally make them more susceptible to severe weather and strong winds.
What can happen, is something known as “wake turbulence”. This is primarily caused by a large airplane causing a wake in the air.
Picture a boat through the water.
An airplane that flies through this disturbed air runs the risk of losing lift suddenly and losing altitude. This is particularly dangerous on takeoff and landing, and smaller aircraft are more susceptible because of their lack of mechanical thrust (such as a jet engine).
However, because this is a known danger, pilots and air traffic control take all precautions to avoid such a situation from occurring.
The effect of weather on small and large planes
One thing to keep in mind when comparing smaller planes to larger ones, is that adverse weather conditions will have a larger impact on small planes since they are lighter and are equipped with less powerful engines. As such, they can’t escape potentially dangerous weather situations as fast as larger planes, nor climb above it.
Many light aircraft also lack equipment that’s often found on larger planes, such as weather radar system, predictive windshear warning, and de-icing systems, which all increase safety, especially in adverse weather conditions.
So what is the most dangerous weather situation you could find yourself in when flying a small airplane?
Well, few weather situations are more dangerous than thunderstorms.
The threat of thunderstorms
There are several reasons why thunderstorms pose such a danger to airplanes.
- They’re quite common when compared to other weather phenomena. In the US alone, it’s estimated that there are around 100,000 thunderstorms each year.
- They can emerge seemingly from nowhere, if you’re not vigilant.
- They can be rather local phenomena and can be hard to predict, as well as see from the cockpit.
However, the most dangerous aspect of thunderstorms is what happens inside and around the cloud.
Thunderstorms often cause heavy rain and strong up-and downdrafts that could even push a plane to the ground! And since smaller planes generally have less powerful engines and weaker climb performance, they are at a greater risk than most bigger planes.
Hail is common as well and could induce significant damage. In fact, there have been events when the strong wind shear and heavy turbulence even have made airplanes emerge out of the storm with broken windshields, doors blown off, and airframes distorted beyond repair.
Source: Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (Figure 12-29)
What are the safest airlines?
Generally speaking, all modern airlines are safe. The Aviation Safety Network estimated the risk of fatal incidents to be one to 2.52 million. The airlines with the absolute worst records and safety ratings have between five and nine crashes in their history. These airlines, such as Kam Air out of Afghanistan and Tara Air out of Nepal, are not allowed to fly over US or EU airspace.
As far as safest, many companies boast zero fatal crashes in their history. Some of these include Qantas, Hawaiian Airlines, Emirates, and Virgin Atlantic.
What is the most dangerous part of a flight?
While accidents can occur at all times during the flight, vulnerability spikes particularly during takeoff and landing.
While many people are unsurprised that landing is a likely time for a mishap to occur, many are surprised to learn that takeoff is actually the most dangerous time to experience an engine failure.
This is because, under normal circumstances, most planes are perfectly able to glide and maneuver with complete engine failure. However, during takeoff, insufficient altitude may be available to turn and face a safe runway and glide down to a landing.
This is another lesson instilled in pilots from day 1: In the event of engine failure on takeoff, do not attempt to turn and return to the runway unless you have the minimum altitude recommended by the aircraft manufacturer.
Airline pilots drill these maneuvers hundreds or thousands of times in their careers and are required to be familiar with the requirements of every airport procedure they fly to.
Final Notes
Aviation continues to be the statistically safest way to travel. All modern airplanes are designed to be far more structurally sound then their normal operations require.
Pilot error is the number one cause of aircraft crashes, however, these numbers are decreasing due to a number of international programs. These programs include data sharing amongst various governing agencies that ensure up to date statistics are kept in an attempt to determine patterns of mishaps, and ultimately prevent them.
Aircraft of all sizes are safe within their operational limits. Larger aircraft designed for airline use continue to be upgraded with redundancies that provide for safer passenger experiences. Airlines spend an incredible amount of money on safety and training. Last year, Boeing announced a $1 billion training program in response to it’s 737 MAX 8 incidents.
While there are many more small plane crashes than large plane crashes, this is due to a number of factors such as pilot experience, the ratio of small planes to large planes, and the types of operations conducted by each.
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