Safety Record of U.S. Air Carriers

Dec 24, 2022

The U.S. government began publishing statistics on the safety of commercial aviation in 1927. While 1978 legislation eliminated economic regulation of the U.S. airline industry, it left safety regulation very much in place. The following table depicts the safety record of U.S. airlines performing scheduled services worldwide, from 2000 to present, as recorded by NTSB.

Safety Record of U.S. Air Carriers (Part 121 Scheduled Service): 2000 to Present

Year	Accidents: Total	Accidents: Fatal	Fatal Accidents per 100,000 Departures	Fatalities: Total	Fatalities: Onboard
2000	49	2	0.018	89	89
2001	41	6	0.019	531	525
2002	34	0	0.000	0	0
2003	51	2	0.020	22	21
2004	23	1	0.009	13	13
2005	34	3	0.027	22	20
2006	26	2	0.019	50	49
2007	26	0	0.000	0	0
2008	19	0	0.000	0	0
2009	26	1	0.010	50	49
2010	28	0	0.000	0	0
2011	29	0	0.000	0	0
2012	23	0	0.000	0	0
2013	18	0	0.000	0	0
2014	29	0	0.000	0	0
2015	27	0	0.000	0	0
2016	26	0	0.000	0	0
2017	30	0	0.000	0	0
2018	28	1	0.011	1	1
2019	36	1	0.010	1	1
2020	10	0	0.000	0	0
2021	21	0	0.000	0	0

Sources: 1927-37: AA Statistical Handbook (December 1945). 1938–71: CAB Handbook of Airline Statistics (1973), Part VIII, Items 19c,d, pp. 595-596; NTSB Safety Studies Division. 1972–82: FAA Statistical Handbook (1972-82), Table 9.3, p. 161, citing NTSB for totals; 1983–present: NTSB Aviation Accident Statistics, Table 6. Fatal Accident Rate excludes incidents resulting from illegal acts, consistent with NTSB practice.

Data & Statistics

Safety Record of U.S. Air Carriers