Commercial Aviation in Alaska

A disproportionate number of all U.S. aircraft crashes occur in Alaska. Between 1990-2006 there were 1441 commuter and air taxi crashes in the U.S. of which 373 (26%) were fatal, resulting in 1063 deaths. Alaska accounted for 513 (36%) of the total U.S. crashes, 75 of which were fatal (20% of the U.S. fatal crashes), resulting in 213 deaths (20% of all U.S. deaths). Alaska’s aircraft crash rate (crashes per 100,000 flight hours) for air taxi and general aviation during 1992-1994 was 2.5 times higher than the U.S. average.

Alaska is particularly dependent on aviation to move people and goods throughout the state. Even though Alaska is very large, it has only 12,200 miles of public roads, approximately the same mileage as Vermont, a state with less than 2% of the land area of Alaska. Furthermore, many of Alaska’s communities are not connected to a highway system. Even if a road is in place, it may not go any farther than the edge of town or may be an ice road (frozen river or stream) that is only usable during winter. Because of this, commuter and air taxi flights must often serve in lieu of a traditional road system. This makes aircraft essential for personal and commercial transportation of passengers, cargo, and mail to outlying communities.

Between 1990-2006, aviation crashes in Alaska caused 142 occupational pilot deaths (does not include military), an average of 9 pilot fatalities per year. These 142 fatalities over 17 years from a commercial pilot workforce of approximately 2600 results in an annual pilot fatality rate of 341 per 100,000 pilots (0.3%). This is equivalent to a 30-year career fatality risk of 9.7% for commercial pilots in Alaska compared to a 30-year career fatality risk of 2.1% for pilots overall in the U.S. This translates to more than a 4-fold increased risk of fatality while working over a 30-year career in Alaska.