Discuss some of the issues to be aware of in analyzing and comparing commercial aviation accident statistics.

Aviation Accident Statistics
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Analyzing and Comparing Aviation Accident Statistics
Statistics in aviation are often presented as truth yet they can be easily misleading without a full explanation. While analyzing and comparing aviation accidents, some issues need to be taken into account. First, it’s vital to understand that all data can just be recorded and compared with any other type of data to draw a conclusion. It’s imperative to prudently select the kind of data that is to be gathered as well as what should be compared. The analysts need to be aware of the time periods. In others words, statistical data should be recorded over a given period, where the federal regulations seem to accept as a norm, e.g., 5-10-year span. The analysts should also be mindful of the taxonomy to be used for the data set. Comparing similar analyses based on varied taxonomies can be deceptive sometimes.
Another critical issue to be aware of is the exposure data. According to Rodrigues and Cusick (2012), exposure data is the “information that indicates the amount of opportunity for an event to occur.” They are used as the denominator rates such as fatalities per million departures. There is also a need to be aware of the classification of aircraft. For instance, statistics of commercial planes can’t be compared with that of private jets. FAA Part 121 airline operations have stricter requirements than FAA Part 135 or Part 61, because of the environment under which such flights are conducted (Sullivan, 2014).

Similarly, general aviation accidents can’t be compared with major airliner accidents because major airliners operate higher frequencies of aircraft, at higher rates landings and departures which are critical conditions of flights. Comparing these two types of operations will give inaccurate results.
References
Rodrigues, C. C. & Cusick, S. K. (2012). Commercial aviation safety (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill
Sullivan, G. (2014). “The many reasons small planes crash.” Washington Post.