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General aviation does have a significantly worse record, and risk management is key. Most GA aircraft don't have the all-weather capability, especially when it comes to icing, that the airlines have. That doesn't mean light aircraft are falling out of the sky because of ice, but when they get into it it's usually because the pilot didn't assess the risk until too late and the aircraft doesn't have the capability to deal with it. Likewise for the low-altitude stall-spin, often caused by unnecessary maneuvering, sometimes a result of showing off (killed a passenger in a C-172 a college acquaintance was flying, too low, pilot survived), and the ever-present continued VFR flight into instrument conditions... all because the trained pilot either didn't use or chose to ignore that training, or because the pilot wasn't trained. In any case it was a risk assessment gone bad or not done at all.
The average airline pilot flies 750-1000 hours a year, and is subject to continuation training, crew resources, flight evaluations and medical monitoring. A corporate pilot may fly a quarter of that, depending on the company. When I flew in the Air Force I was logging 250-400 hours a year, and the nature of my job meant they were mostly "quality" hours, not droning along but actually flying, with reviews approximately twice a year. As a GA pilot I'm only required to log three takeoffs and landings in the previous 90 days if I want to fly with someone onboard, and the 6-month instrument requirements are ludicrous. Every two years there is a review with an instructor pilot. Realistically a GA pilot can fly 20 hours a year and be "current". Not proficient, and because there is no institutional risk management going on like in the airlines or the military, there is a significantly increased risk of mishaps due to poor planning and execution.
It's only safe in the sense that there's a lot less risk of a plane crash vs any other mode of transportation. On the contrary, if there's mechanical failure while 30k+ feet up, your chances of survival drop drastically. I'd rather be in my car if the engine were to fail rather than in a plane.
Also wanted to point out Airlines fly all IFR planned flights so they have lots of support from controllers on the ground. We all think of the large jets but the turbo props those I would say have little more risk in the airline transport. Their pilots have lot less hours and lots of times they are flying in bad weather.
The way I look at it any activity where your keeping a log book has a higher risk, but on the other hand you could live in fear and be safe or take little risk in life to follow your dreams.
Great discussion, but I felt it needed to be mentioned that there were not 9000 planes over the area around your house. It's more likely that there were 9000 over the entire US at the time you checked the app.
9,000 at any given time is actually pretty accurate, there are about 1.8 million passengers that fly to and through the United States Airspace every day.
Also wanted to point out Airlines fly all IFR planned flights so they have lots of support from controllers on the ground. We all think of the large jets but the turbo props those I would say have little more risk in the airline transport. Their pilots have lot less hours and lots of times they are flying in bad weather.
The way I look at it any activity where your keeping a log book has a higher risk, but on the other hand you could live in fear and be safe or take little risk in life to follow your dreams.
Not necessarily. Take Horizon Air, for instance, who operates Q400 turboprops for Alaska Airlines. That company is full of 'lifers', IE people who have been there a long time and have no intention of moving on. Although they fly only turboprops, chances are good that the crew is highly experienced should you fly them.
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