Facts + Statistics: Aviation and drones

World Aviation Accidents

More than 4 billion people flew safely on 46.1 million flights in 2018, according to the International Air Transport Association. The major global accident rate (as measured by the rate of hull losses on Western-built jets) was 0.19 in 2018, or about one major accident for every 5.4 million flights. The 2018 accident rate was an improvement over the rate for the previous 5-year period (2013-2017) of 0.29 but not as good as the rate of 0.12 in 2017. A hull loss is an accident in which the aircraft is destroyed or substantially damaged and is not subsequently repaired. Western-built aircraft are commercial jet transport aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of more than 15,000 kg, designed and manufactured in the Western world countries. There were 62 accidents in 2018 (on Eastern- and Western-built aircraft), up from 46 in 2017 and down from 64 in 2016.

The deadliest world aviation accident was the collision of two Boeing 747 passenger planes on the runway of an airport in the Spanish island of Tenerife in 1977. The crash resulted in the deaths of 583 out of 644 passengers according to the Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office’s list of Worst Aviation Accidents.

United States

In the United States the National Transportation Safety Board compiles data on aviation flight hours, accidents and fatalities for commercial and general aviation, which is private transport and recreational flying.

Commercial airlines are divided into two categories according to the type of aircraft used: aircraft with 10 or more seats and aircraft with fewer than 10 seats. The nonscheduled commercial aircraft with more than 10 seats are also called charter airlines. Commercial airlines flying aircraft with fewer than 10 seats include commuter (scheduled) airlines, and on-demand air taxis. General aviation includes all U.S. noncommercial or privately owned aircraft.

In fiscal year 2018 there were about 881 million trips on commercial airlines in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration projects that there will be about 1.175 billion trips on scheduled commercial airlines in the United States annually by 2039.

Drones

Drones are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that are remotely controlled and include small hobbyist models and commercial and military aircraft. The number of small hobbyist drones registered in the United States totaled 1.1 million units in 2019, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Commercial drone registrations totaled about 412,000 in 2019. The FAA requires owners of hobbyist and commercial drones weighing more than 0.55 pounds and less than 55 pounds to register them and mark them with a registration number since December 2015. Larger drones—weighing more than 55 pounds—must register using the FAA's aircraft registry.

At the end of 2019, the FAA published a proposed rule establishing requirements for the remote identification of mostly commercial drones operated in the United States. Remote identification would enable a drone in flight to provide identification and location information that people on the ground and other airspace users can receive. The FAA says that this ability is important as drone operations in all classes of airspace increases and would provide information to law enforcement and other officials that ensure public safety. The rulemaking is the first step in creating a remote identification system which would later involve a network of service suppliers operating under contract with the FAA. All drones, whether hobbyist or commercial weighing more than 0.55 pounds that currently must be registered and marked will be included under the new rule. The FAA estimates that it will take three years from the effective date of the rule for all drones to be compliant with the remote identification requirements. Companies such as Amazon and UPS have already been approved to begin unmanned package deliveries.

Insurance Coverage: If a drone is damaged in an accident it is most likely covered under a homeowners insurance policy (subject to a deductible). Coverage also applies to renters insurance. The liability portion of a homeowners or renters policy may provide coverage against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that a policyholder causes to other people with a drone. It may also cover privacy issues–for example if a drone inadvertently takes pictures or videotapes a neighbor who then sues the policyholder. It will not cover any intentional invasion of privacy. The policy will cover theft of a drone. Damage or injuries caused by a drone used for commercial (i.e. business) purposes will not be covered by a homeowners policy.

A no-fault medical coverage policy may provide no-fault medical coverage if someone is accidentally injured by your drone. However, this coverage will not pay medical bills for a policyholder’s family members or pets if they are injured by the policyholder’s drone.   

If a policyholder’s drone crash-lands into his or her car, damage may be covered under auto insurance’s optional comprehensive insurance.

General liability insurance policies commonly contain exclusions for aviation activities. Insurers are entering the market for drone insurance and creating coverage tailored to drones and their equipment. Commercial drone operators can purchase commercial aviation insurance to cover property damage and liability caused by a drone. The policy would cover the drone, its equipment and remote control systems. Commercial aviation companies use underwriting processes similar to ones used for manned aircraft policies to cover drones.