Occupational aviation fatalities--Alaska, 2000-2010.

Aircraft crashes are the second leading cause of occupational deaths in Alaska; during the 1990s, a total of 108 fatal aviation crashes resulted in 155 occupational fatalities. To update data and identify risk factors for occupational death from aircraft crashes, CDC reviewed data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System. During 2000--2010, a total of 90 occupational fatalities occurred as a result of 54 crashes, an average of five fatal aircraft crashes and eight fatalities per year. Among those crashes, 21 (39%) were associated with intended takeoffs or landings at landing sites not registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Fifteen crashes (28%) were associated with weather, including poor visibility, wind, and turbulence. In addition, 11 crashes (20%) resulted from pilots' loss of aircraft control; nine (17%) from pilots' failure to maintain clearance from terrain, water, or objects; and seven (13%) from engine, structure, or component failure. To reduce occupational fatalities resulting from aircraft crashes in the state, safety interventions should focus on providing weather and other flight information to increase pilots' situational awareness, maintaining pilot proficiency and decision-making abilities, and expanding the infrastructure used by pilots to fly by instruments.