Agricultural flying in Australia logged a positive safety record for the period between May 2014 and April 2015, according to the Aerial Application Safety report the Australian Transport Safety Bureau published last week. Between 2014 and 2015, the ATSB said there were 13 accidents, one of which was fatal, down significantly from previous years. For example, the sector recorded 47 accidents between 1989 and 1990.
The ATSB said 60 percent of all accidents involve a wire strike, with nearly two-thirds of accidents related to human-factor issues such as planning, checking and communicating. Another one-quarter of accidents related to monitoring. The median experience level for ag pilots involved in accidents was 4,625 flight hours, with the median number of flight hours on an aircraft type 648 hours at the time of the accident. The ATSB also found that pilots involved in taxiing collision and ground strikes tended to be older, with an average age of 60 and 53, respectively, at time of accident. Finally, the majority of agricultural accidents are recorded during September and November—the peak months for starting new seedlings.