753:

Average number of aviation-related deaths each year in the United States. Susan P. Baker, a professor at the Bloomberg School’s Center for Injury Research and Policy, recently published the first-ever study of U.S. aviation injuries and mortality in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. Her research also found an average of 1,013 injuries requiring hospital admission. The most injuries happened to occupants of civilian, noncommercial powered aircraft—they accounted for 87 percent of deaths and 32 percent of injuries, versus just 7 and 11 percent, respectively, for commercial aircraft occupants. The most common cause of death was head injury; the most common injury was leg fractures. Says Baker, “Because many injuries can be prevented through changes in the structure of aircraft, these data should be used to recognize needed improvements in aircraft design.”