RATES AND RISK FACTORS FOR ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS VERSUS VIOLATIONS FOR U.S. AIRMEN.

Rates and risks of general aviation accidents/incidents and violations were calculated employing case-control methodology. Cases, selected from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records of currently active airmen who had one or more accidents, incidents, or violations during 1982-1987, totaled 11,548. Active controls were drawn from the FAA's 1987 Airmen's Registry (N -- 666,801). A comparison of cases and controls was made by using five predictors: gender, age, medical certificate, airmen's certificate, and FAA region. All variables showed significant results as risks for, or as protective factors against, having an accident/incident or violation. Some variables showed a greater risk for violations than for accidents/incidents. The period prevalence, or the number of existing cases divided by the average population, was 12.7 per 1,000 for accidents/incidents and 7 per 1,000 for violations. Limitations in verifying available data are discussed. It was recommended that accidents/incidents and violations should not be routinely aggregated because their epidemiology differs. Language: en