According to the just-released EASA annual safety review for 2015, general aviation accidents killed 65 people last year, which is 17 percent less than the five-year annual average of 79. The report also shows that there were no fatalities or serious injuries in offshore helicopter operations in 2014 or 2015, with the average 10-year fatality count at just three.
The EASA’s annual review of accidents that happened in EU member states does not compare data from one year to another. Instead, the most recent year’s accident figures are compared to a 10-year annual average for airlines and a five-year annual average for general aviation piston and turbine airplanes.
Also included in the report are depictions and analyses of the accidents within each commercial and non-commercial category in terms of key risk areas; human factors; operational safety organization and culture; phase of flight; and related accidents over a five- or 10-year period. Besides commercial and non-commercial airplane and helicopter mishaps, the report also details crashes involving balloons and gliders.
The EASA report combines piston and turbine airplane personal, business and training flights into a single category. Research by AIN indicates no business jet fatal accidents in Europe last year versus two (both in Germany) in 2014.