The total number of civil aviation accidents in Illinois decreased by a wide margin in 2020. Much of this was due to a major decrease in the total amount of flight activity. The outbreak of the pandemic put a huge damper on flights of all kinds all across the U.S. The number of fatal accidents involving Part 121 air carriers was listed as zero.
Aviation deaths were down across the board
Aviation accidents of all kinds were down. The vast majority of deaths in this area took place during general aviation operations. Even here, there was a decrease to 332 from the total figure of 414 the year before. The total fatal accident rate was 1.049 per 100,000 flight hours. This is a drop from 1.064 in the previous year.
On-Demand Part 135 operations, which handle such operations as charters, air taxis, air tours, and medical services, claimed 21 lives in 2020. This figure was down from 32 in 2019. The total amount of U.S. air carrier operations decreased by 55 percent. This years’ total was 8.9 million flight hours, down from 19.8 in the previous year.
Activity is picking up after the pandemic
Aviation activity is slowly but surely picking up in the wake of the pandemic. However, for the time being at least, the number of total fatalities seems to be on a downturn. This is a trend that no one is complaining over. Much of the time spent out of the air was used by authorities to shore up safety regulations and other measures.
It is true that general aviation operations decreased by a total of 11 percent. This number represents a decrease down to 19.5 from 21.8 million flight hours. It should be pointed out that many of the investigations for accidents that did occur in 2020 are still ongoing.