Death in Training

Before the war, 13 out of every 1,000 Army student pilots were killed in training. Since the war the fatality rate has risen to 20 in every 1,000. These and other figures, based on Army Air Forces' Office of Flying Safety tables, were released last week by OWI. Considering the vast expansion of A.A.F., the greenness of its new hands and the "hot" aircraft needed for war training, OWI echoed the average airman's opinion: A.A.F. had done a good job of keeping accidents down. Other items :

> In flying training the rate of fatal accidents is about the same as before the war. But in combat training the rate has skyrocketed from 82 fatal accidents in every million hours of flying to 182.

> In combat training the fatality rate (a "fatal crash" may cause one or many "fatalities") jumped from 145 for each million hours to 521.

> Chief cause of accidents: errors by pilots and ground crews-- responsible for 48%. Failure of equipment causes 12.4%. One third of all fatal accidents defy analysis.

> Most frequent kind of fatal crash is collision in full flight with mountains, trees, telephone poles. Collisions with other aircraft: only 8.5%.

> Safest plane to fly is a primary trainer; most dangerous, a fighter.

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