Cirrus Accident Statistics

Investing Cirrus Accidents

Fatal Accident Frequency

The following chart illustrates the frequency of fatal Cirrus accidents and Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) saves over the past 15 years.

0728.cirrus fatal saves copa-3

Each bar represents one quarter year, with red bars representing fatal accidents, green CAPS saves and yellow fatal accidents involving COPA members. Note that in the early years until about 2010, more fatal Cirrus accidents occurred in the dark half of the year (October to March) than in the light half of the year (April to September). The fall months of 2011 represents the worst three-month period with eight fatal accidents.

Also, note that over the past few years, the frequency of fatal Cirrus accidents grew less quickly than the increased size of the Cirrus fleet. Furthermore, the use of the CAPS has significantly increased in the past three years. Here is the frequency of fatal accidents and survivable CAPS deployments:

0753.cirrus fatalities.

And the number of fatalities has also changed dramatically.

6136.cirrus fatals vs caps saves

NOTE: Data compiled by COPA includes all known fatal accidents and survivable CAPS deployments in Cirrus aircraft world-wide, hence more than those investigated by the NTSB.

Fatal Accident Rate

Because Cirrus Design collaborates with COPA, we have access to their compilation of fleet flying hours. This enables COPA to calculate the following fatal accident rates.*

0.78 Past 36 Months

In the past 36 months, there have been 21 fatal accidents and approximately 2,700,000 flight hours for a rate of 0.78 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours.
0.84 Past 12 Months

In the past 12 months, there have been 8 accidents in approximately 950,000 flight hours for a rate of 0.84 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

The Cirrus rates compare favorably with the 2016 overall general aviation rate for non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft and the civil aviation rate for personal and business flying:

0.99 General Aviation in 2016

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2.53 Civil Aviation in 2016

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Caution on Comparing Fatal Accident Rates

Comparing the Cirrus rate to other models or manufacturers cannot be done reliably without an estimate of flying hours for those aircraft. Because the age of the Cirrus fleet, where all airplanes were produced after mid-1999, and because of the limited roles for Cirrus aircraft compared to others, any comparison is fraught with difficulty.

Please be thoughtful about how these accident rates are discussed.