Evaluation of the Alaska Interagency Aviation Safety Initiative

Abstract

Aviation crashes are the leading cause of occupational fatalities in Alaska. From 1990 through 1999, aviation crashes in Alaska caused 106 work-related pilot deaths. This rate is nearly five times the rate for U.S. pilots as a whole.1 In 2000, Congress passed legislation aimed at reducing the number of occupational aviation fatalities in Alaska by 50 percent for the years 2000 through 2009. This legislation created an interagency initiative—the Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative—to improve safety in Alaska through the combined efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB), the NOAAs National Weather Service (NWS), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The final Initiative tasks require the agencies to evaluate the programs created to promote aviation safety in Alaska. To that end, NIOSH contracted with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). The following report looks at programs, infrastructure changes, accidents and accident rates between 1997 and 2004. It addresses the following questions: • Has flying become safer in Alaska? • Which types of flying (e.g., general aviation, commuter vs. air taxi flights) are the most risky, and which have shown changes in safety? • Where in Alaska is it most risky to fly? Has this changed? • To what extent can the data show that specific programs are associated with improved safety?