Pilots high Death rate

[RichardRambone]

Probably not new news but I saw this on CNN.com.

The 10 most dangerous jobs by fatality rate are:


.headerTHIS { font: bold 12px Verdana; border-bottom: 1px solid #999999; background-color: #EFEFEF;}.cellTHIS1 { font: normal 11px Verdana; border-bottom: 1px solid #999999;}.cellTHIS1r { font: bold 11px Verdana; border-bottom: 1px solid #999999; text-align: right;}.cellTHIS2 { font: bold 11px Verdana; border-bottom: 1px solid #999999; color:#FFFFFF;}.cellTHIS3 { font: normal 11px Verdana; border-bottom: 1px solid #999999; text-align: right;}.barTHIS { background-color:#003366; padding-top:2px; padding-bottom:2px; padding-left:5px;}RankOccupationDeath rate/100,000Total deaths1Logging workers92.4
852Aircraft pilots92.4
1093Fishers and fishing workers86.4
384Structural iron and steel workers47.0
315Refuse and recyclable material collectors43.2
356Farmers and ranchers37.5
3077Roofers34.9
948Electrical power line installers/repairers30.0
369Driver/sales workers and truck drivers27.6
90510Taxi drivers and chauffeurs24.2
67

 

[RichardRambone]

Well that didnt turn out right but logging workers are first with 92.4 deaths/100,000 workers and pilots are second with 92.4 deaths/100,000 workers. Same rate but for some reason pilots are second. Fly safe out there.

 

[mattpilot]

A link to the source is always nice:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/26/pf/jobs_jeopardy/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

[wrxpilot]

I'm assuming this is skewed by Alaska flying?

 

[mattpilot]

Those stats aren't quite correct, if you ask me.

Flying an airplane isn't necessarily an "occupation". They included every certificated pilot (from recreational to ATP) in those stats.

or so i think - opinions?

 

[8inMan]

I'll bet they grouped all licensed pilots together. The pilots who don't fly for a living would increase the percentage.

 

[RichardRambone]

Yes it includes all us GA schmos that break stuff.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Amazing statistics, in part because I thought these came from the government records having to do with Worker's Compensation claims. However, most small 135 operators fall outside of the rules which mandate Worker's Comp. coverage.

Flying is hazardous. Lack of sleep, lousy diet, stress and exposure to many cancer causing factors. At the same time, it sure is fun - isn't it?

I've noticed a lot of my father's friends haven't lasted very long after retirement, hopefully the next generation of guys will take better care of themselves.

 

[nosehair]

hmmm....makes me think twice about that helicopter logging job....hmmm...ok, there, I thought twice about it...now I can go.

 

[Purpledog]

Flying is hazardous. Lack of sleep, lousy diet, stress and exposure to many cancer causing factors. At the same time, it sure is fun - isn't it?

I've noticed a lot of my father's friends haven't lasted very long after retirement, hopefully the next generation of guys will take better care of themselves.

I've got a great idea! Why don't we increase the mandatory retirement age to 65-70 so we just die at work instead of enjoying life after layovers.

 

[Andy Neill]

Those stats aren't quite correct, if you ask me.

Flying an airplane isn't necessarily an "occupation". They included every certificated pilot (from recreational to ATP) in those stats.

or so i think - opinions?

I don't think that was the case. I reverse engineered these numbers and got the following population sizes for each of the occupations:

Logging 91,991
Pilots 117,965
Fishers 43,981
Structural 65,957
Garbage 81,019
Farmers 818,667
Roofers 269,341
Electrical 120,000
Drivers 3,278,986
Taxi 276,860

It seems that 118,000 pilots is a reasonable population for those who are doing it professionally.

 

[Swass]

Those roofing numbers seem a little low.

 

[RichardRambone]

Hey swass is that a killer klown from outer space?

 

[Swass]

Sho nuff

 

[Swass]

scary azz movie

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Those roofing numbers seem a little low.

Probably because roofers only fall one or two stories to the ground and end up with broken limbs and back injuries instead. Or they possibly could land in a bush or some shrubs which would lead to a lower death rate as well.

 

[RichardRambone]

You cant beat exploding clown noses that turn into popcorn.

 

[4fanman]

Wasn't there a study done about retired airline pilots and their mortality rate after age 60? From what I heard it wasn't too promising. Come to think about it, in 10 years I have only met 1 retired airline guy who was in his 70's.

 

[A Squared]

I'm a little skeptical about the numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims there were 109 fatalities among pilots, 22 airline pilot fatalities and 87 commercial pilot fatalities.

I took a look at the NTSB database and here's what I found.

Part 121 fatal accidents in 2004, 2, with 3 fatalities
Part 129 (foreign carriers) fatal accidents in 2004; 0

that's not quite 22 dead airline pilots.

here's the rest:

Part 135: 21 fatal accidents
Part 133 (rotorcraft external load) 3 fatal accidents
part 137 (ag ops) 7 fatal accidents
part 125 1 fatal accidents.


that's 34 fatal accidents, those accidents had 22 pilot fatalities.

That's 36 fatalities in 121,125,129,133,135 and 137 operations.

That would mean that ther were 73 pilot fatalities in flight instruction, aerial photography, wildlife surveys, firefighting, corporate aviation and other commercial GA activities. Personally, I'm a little skeptical, particularly in light of how far off thier numbers are for airline pilot fatalities.

As a side note, only 3 of those fatal accidents (2 pilot fatalities) were in Alaska, so that doesn't have a very large effect on the national numbers.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Come to think about it, in 10 years I have only met 1 retired airline guy who was in his 70's.

That has more to do with the fact that they were probably married three times. They're nagged to an early death.