Abstract
Deaths in aircraft accidents are uncommon. Worldwide there were 11 fatal scheduled air service accidents in 2007 resulting in 587 fatalities (Insurance Information Institute, http://www.iii.org/media/research, 2008). General aviation accounts for a comparable number of deaths. In the USA alone in 2007 there were 284 general aviation accidents resulting in 491 fatalities (National Transportation Safety Board, http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Table10.htm, 2008). These figures are small compared with deaths in road traffic accidents; in Great Britain 2,946 people were killed in road traffic accidents in 2007 (Department for Transport, http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablepublications/accidents/casuatiesmr/rcgbmainresults2007, 2008). However, major commercial aircraft accidents attract a great deal of publicity and there is pressure to complete a thorough investigation.
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Cullen, S.A. (2011). Aviation Deaths. In: Turk, E. (eds) Forensic Pathology Reviews. Forensic Pathology Reviews, vol 6. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-249-6_7
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