Considering that the size of the RV fleet has reached record levels, pilots of RV airplanes had one of the safest years on record in 2008, according to data compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board. In fact, ignoring the rapidly increasing size of the fleet, the year held its own. At the end of the year, 6,039 RVs were flying.
There were thirty-two reportable incidents involving RV aircraft in 2008, down slightly from 35 in 2007 and slightly more than the 30 in 2006. Most of the incidents were minor and involved ground operations. Fifteen RV pilots or passengers died in accidents in 2008, three more than the previous year. The percentage of RV incidents that involved fatalities has not changed much over the last three years, the data suggests. The NTSB data include some international accidents, but not all. For example, two RVers in Australia recently killed are not included in the calculations.
Again in 2008, the RV-6 and RV-6A models accounted for the bulk of the incidents. The model is far and away the largest part of the RV fleet. The rate of accidents involving the RV-6 line, however, is among the lowest in the RV series. The RV-9, however, continues to occupy the title of "safest model." (ignoring the RV-4). Officially, at least, there has never been a fatal accident involving the RV-9. (Note: The Van's prototype RV-9 crashed in 2000, killing Van's employee Bill Benedict and his son, Jeremy. They were on their way to Sun 'n Fun.) Last year there were only two incidents among 425 flying models.
On the other end of the spectrum, however, the accident rate on the RV-7 model is still the highest, though only marginally higher than the RV-8 series. Technically, however, the RV-10 had the highest incident rate in 2008, but there are too few RV-10s flying at year's end (167) to make the data meaningful. Factoring in the increasing fleet size, however, the RV-7 had a very safe year. The total number of incidents equaled 2007.
Related links:
A look at RV accident statistics
Causes of RV accidents |
