Research
The whole record, reshaped by a question.
Every count below is the Board's own coding across the cases in scope — findings, occurrences, phases, recommendations, the evidence held. Click any bar to make it the filter. No fleet-exposure data exists here, so these are cases, never rates.
AircraftAllBoeing / McDonnell DouglasAirbusEmbraerBombardier / De HavillandBellSikorskyRobinsonCessnaPiperBeechcraft
OccurrenceAllTurbulence encounterCollision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) Loss of control in flightGround collisionFire/smoke (non-impact)Cabin safety eventPowerplant sys/comp malf/failSys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)TailstrikeControlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)Air traffic eventRunway excursion
Showing 33 cases · Birdstrike
33
cases in this slice
4
fatal accidents
19
lives lost
27
with a probable cause
27
with coded findings
62
safety recommendations
The record over time
cases per year by cohort, and the lives lost — click a year to focus on itCases per year
Major investigationPart 121 airlinePart 135 fatal
Fatalities per year
Fatalities
Why accidents happen
27 coded casesthe Board's findings taxonomy — causal findings in the probable cause, contributing factors beside them; occurrences and the phase of flight the defining event sat inEnvironmental issues26 cases · 30 causal · 4 contributing
- Physical environment — Object/animal/substance26
- Conditions/weather/phenomena — 1
- Task environment — Pressures/demands1
- Operating environment — 1
Aircraft8 cases · 7 causal · 16 contributing
- Aircraft structures — Fuselage, Windows-windshield system4
- Aircraft systems — Auto flight system3
- Aircraft power plant — Power plant3
- Aircraft oper/perf/capability — Performance/control parameters2
- Aircraft handling/service — 1
Organizational issues4 cases · 3 causal · 6 contributing
- Development — Selection/certification/testing, Design4
- Management — 3
- Support/oversight/monitoring — Enforcement2
Personnel issues4 cases · 3 causal · 2 contributing
- Task performance — Use of equip/info3
- Psychological — Perception/orientation/illusion2
Solid = cited in the probable cause · outlined = contributing factor · hover a row for the most-cited specifics.
Occurrences coded
- Birdstrike · 33 defining33
Phase of flight of the defining event
- Enroute14
- InitialClimb8
- Approach6
- Takeoff4
- Landing1
Aircraft and operators
by manufacturer family and operating rule — counts of cases, with no fleet-size denominator, so a busy family simply flies moreAircraft family
Operators with the most cases
- Southwest Airlines8
- Delta Air Lines3
- United Airlines3
- Piedmont Airlines2
- Air Evac Ems · 3 lives1
- Air Methods · 3 lives1
- Air Wisconsin1
- Alaska Airlines1
- American Eagle Airlines1
- Chautauqua Airlines1
- Compass Airlines1
- Express Jet Airlines1
What changed because of them
62 recommendations · 5 opensafety recommendations issued from these cases, by the NTSB's status of the response- Closed · acceptable 26
- Closed · unacceptable 28
- Closed · superseded or reconsidered 3
- Open · acceptable response 4
- Open · awaiting response 1
Issued per year
Recommendations
Reiterated most often
None reiterated.
Evidence held
what the corpus can show for this slice, year by year — a docket, decoded flight data, a transcript, photographs, controller audioWhat the record says for this slice
a pattern, not a findingthe causal findings the Board cited most often across the 27 coded cases here- Physical environment › Object/animal/substance · Environmental issues · 96%26 cases
- Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters · Aircraft · 7%2 cases
- Task performance › Use of equip/info · Personnel issues · 7%2 cases
- Aircraft power plant › Power plant · Aircraft · 4%1 cases
- Aircraft structures › Fuselage · Aircraft · 4%1 cases
- Development › Selection/certification/testing · Organizational issues · 4%1 cases
- Task environment › Pressures/demands · Environmental issues · 4%1 cases
- Support/oversight/monitoring › Enforcement · Organizational issues · 4%1 cases
- Aircraft systems › Auto flight system · Aircraft · 4%1 cases
- Development › Design · Organizational issues · 4%1 cases
- Aircraft structures › Windows-windshield system · Aircraft · 4%1 cases
- Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion · Personnel issues · 4%1 cases
The cases
33 of 33newest first — open any case for its recorders, transcript, photographs and analyst| Date | Case | Aircraft | Operator | Where | Outcome | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-17 | DCA26WA216 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737-8 | Southwest Airlines | Liberia, OF | — | no docket · open |
| 2026-01-28 | DCA26LA106 Part 121 airline | AIRBUS A330-343 | Alaska Airlines | Hebron, KY | No injury | no docket · open |
| 2025-03-01 | DCA25FA148 Part 121 airline | BOEING 767 | FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP | Newark, NJ | No injury | no docket · open |
| 2024-01-21 | CEN24FA094 Part 135 fatal | BELL 206 | AIR EVAC EMS INC | Hydro, OK | Fatal · 3 | 12 docs |
| 2023-12-20 | DCA24LA330 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737-8 | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO | Kenner, LA | — | 34 docs · FDR tables |
| 2023-12-19 | DCA24LA051 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737 | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO | St. Louis, MO | No injury | 3 docs |
| 2023-03-05 | DCA23WA302 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737-8 | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO | Havana | — | no docket · open |
| 2022-11-20 | DCA23LA067 Part 121 airline | AIRBUS A320 | DELTA AIR LINES INC | Red Oak, IA | No injury | 4 docs |
| 2022-07-07 | DCA22WA147 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737-924ER | UNITED AIRLINES INC | San Salvador | — | no docket · open |
| 2021-10-02 | ENG22LA002 Part 121 airline | AIRBUS A320-271N | Spirit Airlines | Atlantic City, NJ | Minor injury | 5 docs · FDR tables |
| 2019-12-22 | DCA20CA050 Part 121 airline | Boeing 737 | Southwest Airlines | Kansas City, MO | No injury | 2 docs |
| 2019-10-29 | DCA20CA010 Part 121 airline | De Havilland DHC8 | Horizon Air Indistries Inc. | Boise, ID | No injury | 1 docs |
| 2019-03-28 | DCA19CA130 Part 121 airline | Boeing 737 | Southwest Airlines | Nashville, TN | — | 1 docs |
| 2018-04-11 | DCA18WA154 Part 121 airline | EMBRAER S A ERJ170-200LR | UNITED AIRLINES INC | unknown | — | no docket · open |
| 2017-11-20 | CEN18FA033 Part 135 fatal | BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 407 | AIR METHODS CORP | Stuttgart, AR | Fatal · 3 | 6 docs |
| 2015-03-20 | DCA15CA108 Part 121 airline | EMBRAER EMB 145LR | American Eagle Airlines | Springfield, MO | No injury | 1 docs |
| 2014-12-13 | DCA15CA037 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737 | Southwest Airlines, Co. | Baltimore, MD | No injury | 2 docs |
| 2014-08-10 | DCA14CA147 Part 121 airline | DEHAVILLAND DHC 8 102 | PIEDMONT AIRLINES INC | Harrisburg, PA | No injury | 3 docs |
| 2014-05-28 | CEN14LA262 Part 121 airline | EMBRAER EMB 135KL | CHAUTAUQUA AIRLINES INC | Traverse City, MI | No injury | 2 docs |
| 2013-12-23 | ENG14IA005 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737 3H4 | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO | St. Louis, MO | No injury | 1 docs |
| 2013-11-25 | DCA14CA031 Part 121 airline | DE HAVILLAND DHC8 - 102 | Piedmont Airlines | Philadelphia, PA | No injury | 3 docs |
| 2012-12-05 | DCA13CA066 Part 121 airline | BOMBARDIER INC CL-600-2B19 | Air Wisconsin | New York, NY | No injury | 4 docs |
| 2012-07-31 | CEN12IA502 Part 121 airline | BOEING 737-924ER | UNITED AIR LINES INC | Denver, CO | No injury | 9 docs · recorder reports |
| 2011-11-10 | DCA12CA043 Part 121 airline | AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320 211 | DELTA AIR LINES INC | Minneapolis, MN | No injury | 9 docs · FDR tables |
| 2011-09-26 | ENG11IA051 Part 121 airline | BOEING 757-222 | UNITED AIRlNES INC | Denver, CO | No injury | 10 docs · FDR tables |
| 2010-11-15 | CEN11LA072 Part 121 airline | EMBRAER ERJ 170-200 LR | Compass Airlines, LLC | Minneapolis, MN | No injury | 3 docs |
| 2010-11-08 | WPR11LA042 Part 121 airline | BOMBARDIER INC DHC-8-402 | HORIZON AIR INDUSTRIES INC | Los Angeles, CA | No injury | 6 docs · FDR tables |
| 2010-08-10 | WPR10LA395 Part 121 airline | EMBRAER EMB-145XR | Express Jet Airlines | Salt Lake City, UT | No injury | 1 docs |
| 2009-11-15 | CEN10IA053 Part 121 airline | AIRBUS A319-111 | Frontier Airlines | Kansas City, MO | No injury | 4 docs |
| 2009-11-02 | WPR10LA044 Part 121 airline | MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-90-30 | DELTA AIR LINES INC | Phoenix, AZ | No injury | 4 docs |
| 2009-01-15 | DCA09MA026 Major investigation | AIRBUS A320 | US AIRWAYS INC | Weehawken, NJ | Serious injury | 123 docs · FDR tables |
| 2009-01-04 | CEN09MA117 Major investigation | SIKORSKY S-76C | PHI INC | Morgan City, LA | Fatal · 8 | 29 docs · FDR tables |
| 2008-03-04 | DFW08MA076 Major investigation | CESSNA 500 | Interstate Helicopters Inc | Oklahoma City, OK | Fatal · 5 | 42 docs · recorder reports |