quote:
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/dailynews/militarycrashes001004.html
Military Aviation Accidents Decline, but Number of Fatalities Climbs
By Robert Burns
The Associated Press
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 4 — The accident rate for military aviation this past budget year was the lowest ever, but the number of crash deaths rose sharply, mainly because of two Marine Corps training accidents, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon welcomed the lower accident rate but said it must go lower.
“We won’t rest until we get it down to zero and keep it there,” he said.
For fiscal 2000, the budget year that ended Sept. 30, there were 57 major aviation accidents, compared with 70 a year earlier. A major accident is defined as one causing a fatality or aircraft damage exceeding $1 million.
Aviation accidents as measured per 100,000 flying hours fell to 1.23 from 1.54 in 1999.
Bacon said the 1.23 mark was the lowest in the history of U.S. military aviation. Ten years ago it was 2.04 per 100,000 flying hours.
Army Has Safest Flyers
The Army’s exceptionally low accident rate of .58 was more than three times lower than a year earlier, and Brig. Gen. Gene LaCoste, the director of Army safety, said in an interview Tuesday that it was the lowest in the history of the Army. LaCoste attributed the improvement in part to greater emphasis on safety by Army commanders and in part to individuals paying more attention to hazards and risks.
“We’re not taking shortcuts,” LaCoste said.
The rise in casualties in fiscal 2000 was due mainly to two Marine Corps accidents: an MV-22 Osprey crash in Arizona in April that killed 19 Marines and the crash of a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter off the coast of San Diego last December that killed six Marines and one sailor.
For the full budget year, the Marines had 30 deaths from aviation accidents, compared to six in 1999. The Navy’s total rose from seven to 17, while the Army’s dropped from 22 in 1999 to four. The Air Force had seven deaths from aviation accidents compared with nine in 1999.
The Air Force said its accident rate in 2000, at 1.04 per 100,000 flying hours, was the lowest in its history. It was 1.11 in 1999 — the year of the 78-day bombing campaign over Kosovo in which only two Air Force planes were lost and no pilots were killed.
The Air Force said it set other all-time records for the year: fewest number of major accidents, 22; fewest aircraft destroyed, 14; fewest pilot fatalities, three; and fewest total aviation fatalities, seven.
Air Force F-16 Record Improves
The Air Force plane that has crashed the most in recent years, the F-16 fighter, did much better in 2000 year with nine major accidents compared with 18 in 1999.
Maj. Gen. Tim Peppe, the chief of Air Force safety, attributed the improved overall result to greater emphasis on safety by commanders and more money for aircraft spare parts.
The Marine Corps had the highest accident rate among the services, at 2.63 per 100,000 flying hours. That was an improvement over a rate of 3.64 the year before. At various times this calendar year the Marines have temporarily grounded several types of aircraft, including the Harrier jet, due to safety concerns.
The Navy was the only service to experience an increase in the number of accidents. Its accident rate in 2000 was 1.75 per 100,000 flying hours, up from .78 in 1999.
In its report on the year’s overall safety record, the Pentagon said all accidental on-duty military deaths, including the aviation casualties, rose to 113 from 108 in 1999.
Off-duty accidental military deaths totaled 322, one more than in 1999. By far the largest number of deaths in this category — 261 — were from private motor vehicle accidents, as is common for the military.
These statistics do not include suicides or murders.
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/dailynews/militarycrashes001004.html
Military Aviation Accidents Decline, but Number of Fatalities Climbs
By Robert Burns
The Associated Press
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 4 — The accident rate for military aviation this past budget year was the lowest ever, but the number of crash deaths rose sharply, mainly because of two Marine Corps training accidents, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon welcomed the lower accident rate but said it must go lower.
“We won’t rest until we get it down to zero and keep it there,” he said.
For fiscal 2000, the budget year that ended Sept. 30, there were 57 major aviation accidents, compared with 70 a year earlier. A major accident is defined as one causing a fatality or aircraft damage exceeding $1 million.
Aviation accidents as measured per 100,000 flying hours fell to 1.23 from 1.54 in 1999.
Bacon said the 1.23 mark was the lowest in the history of U.S. military aviation. Ten years ago it was 2.04 per 100,000 flying hours.
Army Has Safest Flyers
The Army’s exceptionally low accident rate of .58 was more than three times lower than a year earlier, and Brig. Gen. Gene LaCoste, the director of Army safety, said in an interview Tuesday that it was the lowest in the history of the Army. LaCoste attributed the improvement in part to greater emphasis on safety by Army commanders and in part to individuals paying more attention to hazards and risks.
“We’re not taking shortcuts,” LaCoste said.
The rise in casualties in fiscal 2000 was due mainly to two Marine Corps accidents: an MV-22 Osprey crash in Arizona in April that killed 19 Marines and the crash of a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter off the coast of San Diego last December that killed six Marines and one sailor.
For the full budget year, the Marines had 30 deaths from aviation accidents, compared to six in 1999. The Navy’s total rose from seven to 17, while the Army’s dropped from 22 in 1999 to four. The Air Force had seven deaths from aviation accidents compared with nine in 1999.
The Air Force said its accident rate in 2000, at 1.04 per 100,000 flying hours, was the lowest in its history. It was 1.11 in 1999 — the year of the 78-day bombing campaign over Kosovo in which only two Air Force planes were lost and no pilots were killed.
The Air Force said it set other all-time records for the year: fewest number of major accidents, 22; fewest aircraft destroyed, 14; fewest pilot fatalities, three; and fewest total aviation fatalities, seven.
Air Force F-16 Record Improves
The Air Force plane that has crashed the most in recent years, the F-16 fighter, did much better in 2000 year with nine major accidents compared with 18 in 1999.
Maj. Gen. Tim Peppe, the chief of Air Force safety, attributed the improved overall result to greater emphasis on safety by commanders and more money for aircraft spare parts.
The Marine Corps had the highest accident rate among the services, at 2.63 per 100,000 flying hours. That was an improvement over a rate of 3.64 the year before. At various times this calendar year the Marines have temporarily grounded several types of aircraft, including the Harrier jet, due to safety concerns.
The Navy was the only service to experience an increase in the number of accidents. Its accident rate in 2000 was 1.75 per 100,000 flying hours, up from .78 in 1999.
In its report on the year’s overall safety record, the Pentagon said all accidental on-duty military deaths, including the aviation casualties, rose to 113 from 108 in 1999.
Off-duty accidental military deaths totaled 322, one more than in 1999. By far the largest number of deaths in this category — 261 — were from private motor vehicle accidents, as is common for the military.
These statistics do not include suicides or murders.