Failure modes

Accident topics

Every fatal accident in our dataset is classified into one primary failure mode. Study a category to see the pattern repeat — and how to break it.

753

Loss of Control in Flight

In-flight loss of aircraft control from a variety of causes — the single largest category of fatal GA accidents.

498

VFR into IMC

Visual-rules flights that pressed on into instrument conditions — the deadliest decision in general aviation, and one that experience does not reliably prevent.

378

Undetermined

Accidents where the cause could not be established — often because the aircraft or occupants were never recovered.

333

Mechanical & Engine Failure

Powerplant failures, part separations, and system malfunctions — and the choices pilots make in the seconds that follow.

326

Low-Altitude Maneuvering

Buzzing, canyon flying, and aggressive low passes that leave no margin when something goes wrong.

295

Fuel Exhaustion & Starvation

Running tanks dry, or failing to feed usable fuel to a running engine — almost entirely preventable with planning and fuel discipline.

269

Takeoff & Initial Climb

Accidents in the high-workload moments just after liftoff, when altitude and options are scarce.

204

Stall / Spin

Exceeding the wing's critical angle of attack at low altitude — most lethal in the turn from base to final, where there is no room to recover.

150

Controlled Flight Into Terrain

A working airplane flown into terrain or obstacles, often in reduced visibility, darkness, or rising ground the pilot never saw.

76

Weather (Other)

Wind, turbulence, icing, and other weather factors beyond VFR-into-IMC.

70

Landing / Ground Loss of Control

Runway excursions, hard landings, and ground loops — usually survivable, occasionally not.

69

Midair Collision

Two aircraft occupying the same airspace — see-and-avoid's hardest failures.