Texas Plane Crash Lawyer – Texas Airplane Crash Lawsuit
If you have lost a loved one in an airplane crash, you have important legal rights. You may be entitled to financial compensation. Call us today to get the facts. Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Texas Injury Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your claim.
Texas Airplane Accident Lawyer
Airplane Crash Statistics
The nature of flight makes a malfunction of any kind extremely dangerous. Once there is a crash, the odds of surviving it are relatively low—only 24 percent. Thankfully, however, airplane crashes are rare. You have only a roughly one in 4 million chance of being killed in the average commercial plane flight, with many estimates stating a much lower probability as well.
The vast majority of airplane crashes fall under the “general aviation” context. “General aviation” includes small aircraft that are not flying within the traditional commercial context. They are often smaller planes or jets and may be owned by a private individual or company. Other examples might include:
- Crop dusting planes
- Non-commercial helicopter flights
- Air ambulances
- Some small public-use airports that do not have scheduled flights
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that of the 1,298 total airplane accidents that occurred in 2013, 1,224 of those fell under the general aviation category. That means that 94 percent of all aviation accidents involved smaller, often non-commercial planes. While commercial airline safety has increased over the past ten years, this smaller general aviation sector has remained flat.
According to calculations performed by LiveScience, it may be 19 times more dangerous to get on a private plane compared to traveling in a car.
Cause of Airplane Crashes
When a crash does occur, it is usually due to pilot error. Pilot error generally means that the pilot has lost control of the airplane for any reason and is unable to regain control before hitting the ground.
“Flying blind” due to weather or other low-visibility situations can also be a serious problem. While instruments on the plane can help with this problem, many smaller aircraft do not have the same advanced safety features that commercial planes might have to help with navigation. Things like backup systems, co-pilots, and extra engines are rare on smaller, private planes and other aircraft. In addition, private pilots do not have to undergo the same type of training and certification that commercial pilots do, making new pilots particularly dangerous.
Mechanical failure is responsible for approximately 20 percent of all airplane crashes. The most common mechanical problems include:
- Equipment failure
- Engine failure
- Maintenance errors
- Design flaws
- Structural failures
Weather can also play a role in plane crashes. Conditions like thunderstorms, heavy rain, and lightning strikes can present concerning hazards.
Other external problems are somewhat rare, but they do occasionally occur. These include things like objects in the runway, collisions with other planes, ground crew errors, and improperly loaded planes.