There were 80 plane crashes in January 2024 and 60 something in January 2025.
Why? Inexperienced pilots? Shitty on-board plane course correction systems? ATC shortages at smaller airports?
Private pilots (like the rancher who gets his pilot license) are particularly risky, but also there has been explosive growth of private aviation the last 30 years and the talent of not just pilots but mechanics is spread pretty thin. There are also more and more private planes out there that are 20-30+ year-old retreads with ancient tech being flown. And they are flying into private airports and landing strips what don’t have the kind of high quality air traffic control professionals and planning as our commercial ATC. Plus they are (mostly MUCH) smaller craft that are inherently less safe in all phases, more susceptible to weather issues and less likely to survive an impact.
I see. How do you know so much about this? Have you helped finance private aircraft?
Definitely less experienced AND less skilled pilots. The day JFK Jr. died flying his own plane was not a day for inexperienced pilots (the skies over NY/NE were pea-soup with humidity, smog, haze, etc.); one needed to be skilled AND experienced at flying by instruments - Kennedy wasn’t.
Yes. I used to finance private craft, now mostly commercial.
Oh, you had to downgrade? What happened? Parking spots in Aspen become too expensive?
That bit of advice was relayed to me many years ago by a big ol’ fat man living in a big ol’ house with a big ol’ dock on the Tennessee River in Killen, Alabama.
Correct. I ended up canceling my G650 purchase order because of this very thing.
My friend said his son is really shaken by it. The only thing he ever wanted to be was a pilot. He wanted to join the Air Force as a fighter pilot, but didn’t pass the physical.