Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 2000 39

Safety and Health

Worker Fatalities in Aeronautics

The aeronautics field has developed from a

series of “huge steps for mankind.” However,

the dream of flying was not accomplished

without risk. Many lives have been lost in

realizing this feat. According to the Bureau of

Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational

Injuries, between 1992 and 1998, 853 pilots and

another 1,286 workers in other occupations lost

their lives on the job in aircraft crashes.

PEGGY SUAREZ

Flying Too High:

Worker Fatalities

in the Aeronautics

Field

Peggy Suarez is an economist in the Division of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-6175

E-mail: Suarez_P@bls.gov

Beginning in the late 1400s, Leonardo DaVinci envisioned

human-kind soaring through the clouds in a flying machine.

He was not the first one to have this dream, nor the last. The

realization of this dream, however, was not without risks.

Many people have lost their lives in realizing this feat. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal

Occupational Injuries (CFOI),1 during the 1992-98 period,

853 pilots2 lost their lives on the job in aircraft crashes—

making piloting aircraft among the most dangerous occupations. (See table 1.)

Some early pioneers

From its conception, aviation has taken many lives, even as

it has contributed to better lives for human-kind. The initial

successes in the aviation field began with the first human

balloon flight in November 1783. At this time, Pilatre do

Rozier flew his balloon through the air to an altitude of 500

feet, covering almost 51⁄2 miles. However, work on inventing an airplane did not really begin until 1890.

There were several pioneers in the aeronautics field, including Otto Lilienthal, Octave Chanute, and Sir Haram Maxim. Lilienthal, who died from injuries sustained in a

crash of his experimental hang glider in 1896, once said,

“Sacrifices must be made.”3

Research by these men contributed to the historic flight

of the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903. Piloting the

Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright traveled 120 feet in 12 seconds.

TABLE 1. Number and rate of work-related fatal injuries by

selected occupations, 1998

Total (all workers) ............... 6,026 4.5 1.0

Timber cutters .......................... 109 141.6 31.5

Fishers ..................................... 71 137.3 30.5

Structural metal workers ......... 52 82.5 18.3

Aircraft pilots ............................ 91 80.5 17.9

Extractive occupations ............ 60 48.0 10.9

Construction laborers .............. 335 40.7 9.0

Taxicab drivers ......................... 82 30.0 6.7

Truckdrivers ............................. 879 29.2 6.5

Farm occupations .................... 592 28.6 6.4

Roofers .................................... 50 20.7 4.6

1 Rate = (Fatal work injuries / Employment) X 100,000 workers.

2 Index of Relative Risk = Fatality rate for a given group / fatality

rate for all workers.

NOTE: Employment figures are based on the 1998 Current

Population Survey.

Index of

relative

risk2

Rate1 Occupation Fatalities
40 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 2000

CHART 2. Cause of fatal aircraft crashes for pilots in

the crop service industry, 1992-98

CHART 1. Percent of nonpilot fatalities resulting from

aircraft crashes by occupation, 1992-98

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Military officers

Managers not elsew here classified

Teachers

Public transportation attendants

Managers, including marketing managers

Photographers

Supervisors, sales occupations

Registered nurses

Aircraft engine mechanics

Law yers Lawyers

Aircraft engine

 mechanics

Registered nurses

Supervisors,

 sales occupations

Photographers

Managers, including

 marketing

Public transpor-

 tation attendants

Teachers

Managers not else-

 where classified

Military officers



 



 

Other,

18 percent Pilot struck

powerline, tree,

or tower,

33 percent

Unspecified,

49 percent

Percent

Occupation

According to the Wright brothers, although they had been

interested in flying since youth, their interest was rekindled

upon hearing about Lilienthal’s death.4

After the Wright brothers’ historic flight, it did not take

long for aircraft to become sophisticated and commonplace.

Only 21 years later, the first flight around the world was

completed. In 1947, the first piloted supersonic airplane

flight took place. Astronauts continue to break new aeronautic barriers. And, most recently, in 1999, a balloon traveled nonstop, nonrefueled around-the-world. However, all

of this has come at a cost.

More sacrifices

The death of Lilienthal was not the only tragedy to befall

early aviators. In 1785, two people were fatally injured in

an attempt to cross the English Channel by balloon. In the

years 1921, 1925, 1930, and 1933, dirigible crashes led to

numerous fatalities. And, in 1937, the Hindenburg explosion left 36 dead.

Even the first airplane pilot, Orville Wright, was a victim

of an aircraft injury. In 1908, he was severely injured in a

plane crash while flying for the U.S. Army. His passenger,

Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, was killed. Selfridge, thus, became the first American worker to die on the job in an aircraft incident.

Other notable aircraft disasters included the death of

Bessie Coleman, the first U.S. black female pilot in 1926;

the disappearance of Amelia Earhart while she was attempting to fly around the world in 1937; and the explosion of the

Challenger space shuttle in 1986.

Importance of aviation

The sacrifices made by these aviators were great; however,

the return on mankind’s investment has been tremendous.

Whereas it took Magellan almost 3 years to travel around

the world in a ship, today, by airplane, this can be done in

hours. Moreover, aircraft are used for many diverse activities including transporting people, mail, and cargo; conducting research; entertaining; and fighting wars. Still, each year,

people lose their lives in job-related aircraft incidents. From

1992 to 1998, 2,139 fatalities resulted from job-related aircraft incidents. (See table 2.) Of these 2,139 aircraft incidents, 853 occurred to pilots. The other victims (including

teachers, attorneys, farmers, accountants, nurses, flight attendants, and armed forces personnel) were flying while in

work status. (See chart 1.)

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the

leading cause of aviation incidents is an error in pilot

decisionmaking. “Pilots were cited as either a cause or contributing factor in 77 percent of accidents and 83 percent in

fatal accidents.”5

Aircraft pilots

Since 1992, the first year that CFOI collected fatality data,

the annual fatality rate for aircraft pilots has hovered around

80 deaths per 100,000 workers.6 This number has consistently placed piloting among the 10 occupations with the

highest fatality rates. The piloting occupation, however,

spans many industries. Although most people immediately

think of airline pilots, many other pilots fly for a living.

Examples include agricultural pilots who work in the crop

service industry, cargo pilots, helicopter pilots, balloonists,

TABLE 2. Work-related fatalities resulting from aircraft crashes,

1992-98

1992-98 ........................................................ 2,139

1992 ............................................................. 350

1993 ............................................................. 281

1994 ............................................................. 424

1995 ............................................................. 282

1996 ............................................................. 320

1997 ............................................................. 259

1998 ............................................................. 223

Year Fatalities
 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 2000 41

Worker Fatalities in Aeronautics

and even aerial hurricane hunters. All of these workers are

classified under the occupational category aircraft pilots (pilots and navigators).

Aircraft incidents by industry

Of the total 2,139 aircraft fatalities, almost half—981—occurred in the following industries: crop service, transportation by air, national security, and schools and educational

services. (See table 3.) Closer examination of these industries reveals why.

Crop service industry. According to the National Agricultural Aviation Society, “Without crop protection products to

control insects, weeds, and diseases, crop yields per acre

would drop by more than 50 percent.”7 The first aerial application of insecticide occurred in 1921, and was a huge

success.8 Today, aerial applicators do more than just protect; they also spread seed and apply fertilizer.

Unfortunately, the loss of life in this industry has been

high. This can be attributed to the many dangers that agricultural pilots, or aerial applicators, face working in this industry. They fly at low levels with speeds in excess of 100

miles per hour. They must turn quickly and sometimes land

on fields instead of runways. Flying at low altitudes, they

face the possibility of crashing into power lines, trees, towers, and sometimes buildings and mountainsides.9 Although

most reports on crashes do not indicate the specific cause, in

33 percent of the crashes occurring in this industry, the pilot

is reported to have struck a power line, tree, or tower. (See

chart 2.)

In response to the dangers and the fatalities involved with

crop dusting, many aerial applicators have chosen to participate in either the Professional Aerial Application Support

System developed by the National Agricultural Aeronautics

Association or the Operation SAFE (Self-regulating Application and Flight Efficiency) program. Both of these programs require that participants’ aviation skills be evaluated

regularly.

Although 4 percent of fatalities resulting from aircraft

crashes occurred to those individuals who worked in the crop

service industry, crop service industry workers accounted

for 10 percent of the fatalities that occurred to pilots. That

is, of the 853 pilots that were fatally injured in aircraft crashes

during the 1992-98 period, 84 worked in crop dusting. The

crop service industry may be a key contributor to the fact

that pilots have a higher fatality rate than other occupations.

Air transportation industry. Almost 24 percent of workers

who died in aircraft crashes worked in the air transportation

industry. However, it is important to note that the industry

encompasses far more than major airline carriers; it is divided into scheduled air transportation and nonscheduled air

transportation. The scheduled air transportation industry

includes establishments primarily engaged in furnishing air

transportation over regular routes and on regular schedules.

The nonscheduled air transportation industry includes establishments primarily engaged in furnishing airplane

sightseeing services, air taxi services, and helicopter passenger transportation services to, from, or between local airports, whether or not scheduled. Both scheduled and nonscheduled air transportation industries include establishments

that transport air cargo as well as passengers.

More worker fatalities occurred in the nonscheduled air

transportation industry (249) than in the scheduled air transportation industry (175). Fatalities in the nonscheduled air

transportation industry were most likely to occur in the following States: Alaska, California, Texas, Florida, and Washington. (See table 4.) Because of the great amount of tourism in these States and their geographic expanse, this

distribution might be expected.

However, the extraordinarily high number of fatalities

occurring in Alaska is noteworthy. Pilot inexperience may

be one reason for this occurrence.10 Other reasons may include poor weather and less advanced landing fields.

Armed forces. The national security industry encompasses

“establishments of the armed forces, including the National

Guard, primarily engaged in national security and related

activities.”11 Military training schools are also included in

this industry. The nature of the work in the industry is likely

to be the primary cause of these fatalities. Fatalities occurring in this industry during times of war come at no surprise;

but, even in peace, workers participate in dangerous activities. Pilots fly in dangerous maneuvers and tight formations

and engage in difficult training missions. Parachutes12 sometimes fail to open. Other crashes occur for reasons similar

to those in other industries. During the 1992-98 period, helicopters were more likely to crash than jets. (See table 5.)

The fatalities in this industry occur primarily to young men.

TABLE 3. Work-related fatalities resulting from aircraft crashes

by selected industry, 1992-98

Total .................................................... 981

Crop planting and protecting ................... 0721 91

Air transportation, scheduled .................. 4510 154

Air transportation, nonscheduled ............ 4520 249

Schools and educational services ........... 8299 82

National security ...................................... 9711 405

Industry SIC Fatalities

TABLE 4. Work-related fatalities resulting from aircraft crashes

in the nonscheduled air transportation industry by State,

1992-98

Alaska .................................................. 47 19

California .............................................. 32 13

Texas .................................................... 17 7

Florida .................................................. 13 5

Washington .......................................... 10 4

All other................................................ 130 52

State Fatalities Percent
42 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 2000

In fact, 97 percent of these fatalities occurred to men; and 75

percent occurred to men aged 35 or younger.

Schools and educational services. The fatal injuries that

occured to workers in this industry make up another 4 perTABLE 5. Work-related fatalities resulting from aircraft crashes

in the national security industry by aircraft, 1992-98

Powered fixed wing................................... 209

Jet ........................................................ 129

Propeller-driven ................................... 40

Rotary wing ............................................... 183

Helicopter ............................................ 173

Nonpowered ............................................. 6

Parachute ............................................ 6

Aircraft Fatalities

1

 The CFOI program, which has collected occupational fatality

data since 1992, uses diverse data sources to identify, verify, and

profile fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality

(industry and other worker characteristics, equipment involved, and

circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source

documents such as death certificates, workers’ compensation records,

and reports to Federal and State agencies. This method assures that

counts are as complete and accurate as possible. 2

 The occupation entitled “pilots and navigators” encompasses a broad

range of workers, including fishspotters, helicopter pilots, cargo pilots,

balloonists, and skydivers. For a full list of workers included, see the 1990

Occupational Classification System published by the U.S. Census Bureau. 3

 Otto Liliethal, “Practical Experiments for the Development of Human Flight,” The Aeronautical Annual, 1896, pp. 7-20, on the Internet at

http://www.wam.umd.edu/~stwright/WrBr/Lilienthal.html (visited

Feb. 1, 2000). 4

 Orville and Wilbur Wright, “The Wright Brothers Aeroplane,” Century Magazine, September 1908, on the Internet at http://

www.wam.umd.edu/~stwright/WrBr/Century.html (visited Feb. 22,

2000). 5

 See “General Aviation,” Safer Skies – A Focused Agenda (Federal

Aviation Administration, 1998) on the Internet at http://www.faa.gov (visited Feb. 8, 2000). 6

 Fatal work injury rates included in this article were calculated using

annual average employment from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Rate = (N/W) X 100,000 workers, where:

N = number of civilian worker fatalities, age 15 and older and

W = annual average number of employed civilians, age 15 and older

Because the CFOI program does not collect employment data,

annual average employment estimates from the CPS for 1998 were

used in the denominator. The CPS employment data used to calculate

rates are estimates based upon a sample of persons employed rather

than a complete count. Therefore, the CPS estimates and fatality

rates have sampling errors, that is, they may differ from figures that

would have been obtained if it had been possible to take a complete

census of employed persons. See “Explanatory Notes and Estimates

of Error” in any BLS monthly Employment and Earnings bulletin for

an explanation of CPS sampling and estimation methodology, and

standard error computations. The relative standard errors of the CPS

employment estimates can be used to approximate confidence ranges

for the fatality rates. 7

 “Why? Because...,” National Agricultural Aviation Association,

1998-99, on the Internet at http://www.aviation-ag.com/why.html (visited Feb. 8, 2000). 8

 “Ag Aviation History,” National Agricultural Aviation Association,

1998-99, on the Internet at http://www.aviation-ag.com/history.html

(visited Feb. 9, 2000). 9

 Dean H. Chamberlain, “The Hazards of Low Altitude and Off-Airport Flight Operations” (Federal Aviation Administration) on the Internet

at http://www.faa.gov/avr/new/fliops.htm (visited Feb. 8, 2000). 10 See “Fatalities by Accident Type 1992-97, Alaska and U.S.,” Alaska

Economic Trends, November 1998, pp.12-16. 11 Office of Management and Budget, Standard Industrial Classification Manual 1987 (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1987), p.

419.12 Under the CFOI Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, aircraft incidents include parachuting incidents.

cent of all aircraft crash fatalities. The majority of these

fatalities involved workers employed as pilot instructors, who

teach students all aspects of flying, including spin recoveries and other dangerous maneuvers. They usually worked

out of smaller airfields and flew smaller planes. In 65 percent of the cases, the instructor was reported to have been

flying the aircraft at the time of the crash.

Conclusion

Of the occupational fatalities that occurred in the United

States from 1992-98, almost 5 percent (2,139) resulted from

aircraft crashes. Though this number may be alarming, it is

a fraction of the 18,000 fatalities that resulted from all transportation incidents. These figures represent the cost in lives

that comes with transporting people and goods.