Just last week, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board released statistics showing in 2016 fatal crashes on privately owned aircrafts was at its lowest level in 50 years.
According to the NTSB, the fatal-accident rate was 1 per 100,000 flight hours recorded which is the lowest in decades. 386 people were killed in private-aviation in 2016 compared to 631 in 1997. Although, the total number of fatalities were up slightly from the year prior, the overall rate was down due to the increase in private plane hours in flight.
At the Garvin Injury Law, we were happy to learn about the new statistics from the NTSB given the fact that Attorney Jeff Garvin, has a passion for flying and often flies for law firm business. Jeff has been flying since 1975 and has logged more than 2,000 hours of time on his Cessna 210 traveling for both work and pleasure. In Jeff’s spare time, he continues to flight-train and takes lessons regularly to stay up to date with skills and technological advances that help him be safer in the sky.
“This is welcome news for those of us in the general aviation community.” said Jeff, when asked about the NTSB study. “Overall, I’ve noticed more traffic in the sky today than 10 years ago – however, fatalities are down and that’s great news.” He attributes the new statistics released from the NTSB to pilots having easy access to additional training, as well as more sophisticated and easy to use electronics that provide better situational awareness and more accurate and up to date weather information. “The only thing on the horizon that gives me some cause for concern is the proliferation of drones in the sky and the risk they pose to both commercial and general aviation traffic. Restricting the use of and enforcing the existing regulation of drones is a must.”
Aviation Crash Attorney Jeff Garvin stands next to his Cessna 210 at Page Field Airport in Fort Myers, Florida. Garvin, often uses his plane to travel for work on personal injury cases.
Advice from Jeff:
- If you’re looking to become a pilot, find a program and stick with it religiously until you receive your license, and always continue to do recurrence training
- If you’re looking to hire an aviation crash attorney, find one that has extensive experience in both the air and courtroom. Aviation litigation is unique and the discovery process is highly technical – your lawyer will be light years ahead of an opposing lawyer who doesn’t have the same experience with the FAA, NTSB and aircraft in general.
Both attorneys Jeff and Leland also share a passion for working on piston engines. They have a sound understanding of these combustion engines, how they operate and have experiences rebuilding multiple engines as well as trying cases in the courtroom together.
About the Garvin Injury Law
The Garvin Injury Law is a father and son team of personal injury attorneys whose experience includes numerous trials and the successful resolution of personal injury cases involving automobile accidents, aviation crashes and defective product injuries, as well as medical and lawyer malpractice in both state and Federal courts. Whether representing a car accident victim or advocating for the family members or someone wrongfully killed, Attorney Jeff Garvin and his son Leland passionately represent clients’ interests and stand up against those with power – the large insurance companies, corporations and both the state and federal governments. The Garvin Injury Law has offices in Fort Myers, Naples and Key West. Visit www.garvinlegal.com or call toll free (800) 977-7017 for more information