Month after month, there are reports of private plane crashes—usually with no survivors. Not only do these crashes prove fatal for the occupants of the air craft, but far too often there are on-the-ground victims who are either killed or seriously injured when a plane crashes to the ground.

Two weeks ago, a mother and her two children were killed when a small plane crashed into their home in Gaithersburg, Maryland. According to reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the home burst into fire and the victims were trapped inside. The 36 year-old mother’s body was found huddled and holding the bodies of her seven-week old and three year-old sons. Additionally, all three occupants of the plane were killed in the crash. The plane was only one mile away from its destination when it crashed.

In 2011, the NTSB reported that 94 percent of all fatal plane crashes were categorized as general aviation. The general aviation category includes all small private planes, whether the aircraft is being flown by an experienced pilot or an amateur pilot. The agency’s statistics show that there are seven accidents per 100,000 flight hours in general aviation. For commercial aviation, those statistics are 0.16 accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

The majority of general aviation accidents involve pilot error, and the NTSB notes that most of these accidents are preventable. Many of this country’s 220,000 general aviation pilots do not have enough experience or training when experiencing situations such as bad weather. In fact, when an incident happens, they panic.

The head of the NTSB says that general aviation safety has now become top priority and the agency has implemented “safety alerts” and training videos in an effort to help educate general aviation pilots. The goal is to substantially decrease the number of general aviation accidents that occur annually, which currently number 1,500. Almost 450 people are killed in these accidents every year.

If you have lost a loved one in a fatal private plan crash, or a different type of accident caused by another person’s negligence, contact an experienced Westport wrongful death attorney to discuss the legal recourse you may have against the responsible party.