While rare compared to other types of motor-vehicle crashes, aircraft accidents do happen regularly, usually with devastating results. Despite significant safety improvements over the past decades, many people each year experience the pain of losing someone in an airplane crash.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there was an overall decline in the number of US-registered civil aviation accidents. The number of civil aviation accidents fell from 1,539 in 2012 to 1,297 in 2013. The number of accidents involving commuter aircraft increased from four in 2012 to eight in 2013, with three fatal accidents.

What are common aviation safety hazards that can cause a Yakima or Central Washington plane crash?

• foreign object debris;
• missing or misleading information to the pilot;
• lightening;
• ice and snow;
• engine and structural failures;
• stalling;
• fire.

Small-plane crashes - safety rates are not improving

While safety statistics for large commercial planes have been improving steadily for decades, the accident rate in personal flights has increased by 20% in the past decade, and the fatality rate for personal flights is up 25%.

When someone is injured in an aircraft accident in Yakima, Pasco, Richland, or Kennewick, what needs to happen next?

When someone is injured, it is crucial to get appropriate medical treatment, regardless of the financial cost. The major hospitals in the area include:

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital;

Yakima Regional Medical Center;

Lourdes Medical Center - Pasco;

Kadlec Regional Medical Center - Richland;

Trios Health - Kennewick.

As soon as possible, an injured person should contact their insurance company to find out how medical treatment is covered under their insurance policy.

When an aircraft accident results in a serious injury or a fatality, it is important to find a Yakima or Tri-Cities aircraft accident attorney

When an injury is serious or a death occurs, the next step is to find an experienced Yakima plane accident attorney to start the financial recovery process by launching an insurance claim. Major injury or wrongful death claims are complicated and can be hard to manage without legal help. An experienced aircraft crash lawyer understands that aircraft crash claims are more complicated than other types of claims, since there are more entities involved including aircraft owners, operators, maintenance companies, and often multiple insurance policies.