Pilots involved in multiple crashes: "accident proneness" revisited

Analysis of crashes of air taxi and commuter flights explored the controversial issue of "accident proneness." There were 20 pilots who had 2 or more crashes during 1983-88. These pilots (repeaters) and their 42 crashes were compared with 534 pilots who were each involved in a single air taxi or commuter crash during the same period (nonrepeaters). Unexpectedly, repeaters were more experienced pilots with a mean total flight time of 7016 h vs. 5321 for nonrepeaters. Repeaters did not differ from nonrepeaters in the overall proportion of crashes in which pilot performance appeared to be a major factor. Repeaters differed significantly from nonrepeaters as to flight hours during the past 90 d (mean 215 vs. 183 h) and the proportion of their crashes that occurred in Alaska (48% vs. 24%). Alaska repeaters differed from non-Alaska repeaters with regard to the proportion of crashes on takeoff (40% vs 14%) and airport conditions as a factor (50% vs. 18%). The high proportion of repeaters involved in crashes in Alaska, where environmental conditions make flying more hazardous, and the substantially greater recent flight time suggest that the intensity and amount of occupational exposure are major determinants of pilot involvement in more than one crash.