Several federal transportation agencies play significant roles in air cargo  safety. Air Cargo Accidents and Fatal Accidents Declined from 1997 through 2008

Annually, air cargo accidents decreased 63 percent, from 62 in 1997 to 23 in  2008. 2.) 4.) Accident Rates Have Fluctuated for Large Cargo Carriers but Are Not Available for Small On- demand Cargo Carriers

The accident rate per departure for large air cargo carriers has fluctuated  over the last 25 years, but the overall trend has been downward, and in  2007 was roughly the same as for passenger carriers. Pilot Performance, Accumulated Risk, and Other Factors Have Contributed to Air Cargo Accidents

Our review of NTSB and FAA air cargo accident and incident data as well  as our interviews with industry officials and analyses of industry  documents revealed that pilot performance was a prominent factor in air  cargo accidents. Specifically, we found that NTSB  cited pilot performance as the probable cause for about 53 percent of non- fatal and about 80 percent of fatal air cargo accidents. Our Analysis Indicates That Most Fatal Accidents Involved Multiple Risk Factors

We analyzed NTSB reports of the 93 fatal air cargo accidents that occurred  from 1997 through 2008 using FAA’s Flight Risk Assessment Tool and identified  three or more risk factors in 63 of the accidents and four or more risk factors in  41 accidents. Consequently, most of the accidents in Alaska involved small aircraft. Alaska is also subject to unusual weather conditions. FAA does not use incident data to identify precursors to  aviation accidents, because the data were not developed for this purpose. FAA Safety Improvement Efforts Focus Primarily on Large Carriers and, According to Experts, Vary in Effectiveness

Many government and industry efforts to improve safety focus primarily  on large carriers. Experts Rate Voluntary Disclosure Programs as One of the Most Effective Cargo Safety Programs, but Primarily Large Carriers Participate

The intent of voluntary disclosure programs is to identify and correct  safety problems in a nonpunitive way and to provide additional safety  information to FAA. Some airports are also implementing SMSs. Many experts who responded to our survey indicated that better  data on part 135 cargo flight and operations could improve air cargo  safety. (3) What  have FAA and the industry done to improve air cargo safety, and how do  experts view the effectiveness of these efforts? From these data we identified 443 fixed-wing aircraft accidents, including  93 fatal accidents. Third, for indications of other factors contributing to air cargo accidents,  we surveyed a panel of air cargo experts, which is discussed in more detail  later below; analyzed documents and interviewed officials from FAA,  PHMSA, NTSB, air cargo industry associations, air cargo carriers, airports,  an employee group, and others; and conducted site visits to Alaska, Ohio,  and Texas (see the previous paragraph). The experts rated and  provided relative rankings on the effectiveness of current efforts to  improve air cargo safety, the severity of safety challenges faced by the air  cargo sector of aviation, and the potential improvements that additional  efforts could have on air cargo safety. a.
Why GAO Did This Study

The air cargo industry contributed over $37 billion to the U.S. economy in 2008 and provides government, businesses, and individuals with quick delivery of goods. Although part of an aviation system with an extraordinary safety record, there have been over 400 air cargo accidents and over 900 incidents since 1997, raising concerns about cargo safety. GAO's congressionally requested study addresses (1) recent trends in air cargo safety, (2) factors that have contributed to air cargo accidents, (3) federal government and industry efforts to improve air cargo safety and experts' views on the effectiveness of these efforts, and (4) experts' views on further improving air cargo safety. To perform the study, GAO analyzed agency data, surveyed a panel of experts, reviewed industry and government documents, and interviewed industry and government officials. GAO also conducted site visits to Alaska, Ohio, and Texas.

What GAO Found

From 1997 through 2008, 443 accidents involving cargo-only carriers occurred, including 93 fatal accidents. Total accidents declined 63 percent from a high of 62 in 1997 to 23 in 2008. Small cargo carriers were involved in the vast majority of the accidents--79 percent of all accidents and 96 percent of fatal accidents. Although accident rates for large cargo carriers fluctuated during this period, they were comparable to accident rates for large passenger carriers in 2007. GAO could not calculate accident rates based on operations or miles traveled for small carriers because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not collect the necessary data. Although several factors contributed to these air cargo accidents, our review of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) data found that pilot performance was identified as a probable cause for about 80 percent of fatal and about 53 percent of non-fatal cargo accidents. Furthermore, GAO's analysis of NTSB reports for the 93 fatal accidents, using an FAA flight-risk checklist, identified three or more risk factors in 63 of the accidents. Risk factors included low pilot experience, winter weather, and nighttime operations. Alaska's challenging operating conditions and remotely located populations who rely on air cargo are also a contributing factor. Many federal efforts to improve air cargo safety focus on large carriers. Air cargo experts that GAO surveyed ranked FAA's voluntary disclosure programs--in which participating carriers voluntarily disclose safety events to FAA--as the most effective effort to improve air cargo, but two of the three main voluntary disclosure programs are used typically by large carriers. Several industry initiatives, however, focus on carriers with smaller aircraft, such as the Medallion Foundation, which has improved small aircraft safety in Alaska through training and safety audits. The two actions experts cited most often to further improve air cargo safety were installing better technology on cargo aircraft to provide additional tools to pilots and collecting data to track small cargo carrier operations. Using flight risk checklists can also help pilots assess the accumulated risk factors associated with some cargo flights.