A research project on pilot aging and flight safety has produced data proving differences between male and female pilot error in helicopter and light plane crashes. Dr. Susan Baker of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, who led the study said: “Crashes of general aviation aircraft account for 85 per cent of all aviation deaths in the United States. The crash rate for male pilots, as for motor vehicle drivers, exceeds that of crashes for female pilots.”

The data was compiled from general aviation aeroplane and helicopter crashes in the US between 1983 and 1997. 144 female pilots and 287 male pilots aged between 40 and 63 were involved in the study, which found that male pilots are more likely to experience mechanical failure, run out of fuel and land the plane with the landing gear up, while females are more likely to stall. The most common factor leading to crashes for both sexes was loss of control on landing or take-off, accounting for 59 per cent of female and 36 per cent of male pilots’ crashes. Baker explained: “Because pilot youth and inexperience are established contributors to aviation crashes, we focused only on mature pilots, to determine the gender differences in the reasons for the crash.”

The researchers’ report in the Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine journal also pointed to male pilots’ poor decision-making, risk-taking and inattentiveness, whereas women are generally found to be more cautious. Nevertheless, 95 per cent of females and 88 per cent of males’ crashes involved at least one type of pilot error.

The study also revealed that older pilots (aged 55-63) made fewer mistakes than younger pilots (40-49), and that crashes involving male pilots are more likely to lead to fatalities. Baker said: “In order to improve training of pilots, the most common errors - mishandling aircraft kinetics, poor decision making and inattention – merit increased consideration.”