Abstract
Between 1964 and 1987, 232 airplanes crashed within 50 nautical miles of Aspen, CO; 90% were general aviation crashes. A total of 202 people died and 69 were seriously injured. The societal cost averaged more than $4 million annually. Most pilots were experienced and many were flight instructors, but 44% had flown less than 100 hours in the type of plane in which they crashed. Forty-one percent of the pilots were out-of-state residents. Crashes in the study area were more likely to be fatal than in the rest of Colorado. Airplanes with three or four occupants and low-powered four-seater aircraft were over-represented among crashes involving failure to outclimb rising terrain. In a subset of crashes examined for restraint use, 50% of the front seat occupants using only lap belts were killed, compared to 13% of those who also wore shoulder restraints. Preventive recommendations include shoulder restraint use and better training in mountain flying, with incentives provided by the FAA and insurance companies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 531-536 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 6 |
State | Published - Jan 1 1989 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health