In Safety, Results Do Matter

At Diamond, we are proud of all the safety features we build into our aircraft - and invite you to explore them here. What really matters, though, are results - actual safety statistics showing how aircraft perform in the real-life flying environment.

While some of our competitors need to do a lot of massaging of data to come up with just one acceptable safety statistic - for instance, by looking only at one particularly good year, by choosing a larger denominator (e.g., all N-registered aircraft) but then only counting accidents in one geography (e.g., the US) - we invite you to get the full picture of all relevant safety statistics, because we know that our record can stand up even to the most analytical scrutiny.

Explore the areas in this section to see numerous safety analyses to gain the confidence that Diamond owners already have: Diamonds are extremely safe aircraft - with a compelling safety record you can share with your spouse and other passengers to get them as excited about your aircraft choice as you are.

Judge for Yourself - Explore Safety Data and Statistics.

Actual NTSB query results for past 8 years:

The record indicates only 61 accidents total for Diamond vs. 188 for Cirrus. To run the queries yourself for specific timeframes, click here to access the NTSB's aviation accident query tool.

Absolute number of accidents, fatal and non-fatal:
In the past eight years, based on NTSB reports, which include all N-registered aircraft, Diamond has had only 13 fatal accidents.

Manufacturer	Year	# Fatals	Deaths	# Nonfatals	Total Accidents
Cirrus SR20/22	2012	9	20	12	21
	2011	13	27	16	29
	2010	7	14	10	24
	2009	10	22	14	24
	2008	11	24	12	23
	2007	9	14	13	23
	2006	10	19	16	29
	2005	5	10	10	15
Cessna 182	2012	8	8	38	46
	2011	12	23	50	62
	2010	7	13	40	47
	2009	11	19	40	51
	2008	7	12	50	57
	2007	17	39	56	73
	2006	14	32	47	61
	2005	13	23	47	60
Diamond - all	2012	1	1	3	4
	2011	5	9	6	11
	2010	3	4	6	9
	2009	1	2	11	12
	2008	1	1	11	12
	2007	1	2	5	6
	2006	0	0	3	3
	2005	1	2	3	4

Fatal accidents over time, normalized by fleet size:
The DA20 & DA40 have the best fatality record when adjusted by fleet size - at 1.2 and 1.1 fatal accident per 1,000 aircraft years, vs., for example, 3.8 and 2.8 for the Cirrus SR20 and SR22.

• Fatal Accidents per 1,000 Aircraft-Years

Total mishaps over time, normalized by fleet size:
The Diamond aircraft have the best record in their class. The DA20 has 10.3 mishaps - compared to 17.3 for the Cessna 172, a plane flown in comparable training missions - while the DA40 has 4.0 mishaps, much better than the 8.2 for the comparable Cirrus SR20, and slightly better than the 4.9 for the Cessna 182.

• Total Mishaps per 1,000 Aircraft-Years

Fatal accidents by year:
While annual data is highly variable (due to the big impact of one or several accidents on a finite fleet), the chart over the past five years shows the Diamonds as clearly safer than the Cirrus or the Cessna 350/400 series.

• Fatal Accidents per 1,000 Aircraft

Accidents per 100,000 flight hours.
Comparing Diamond data to large-scale data collected by the NTSB for the entire GA fleet, Diamond again shows an outstanding safety record, at 0.16 fatals per 100,000 flight hours, vs. a single-engine average of 1.27.

• Accident Rates per 100,000 hours flown

Accident severity statistics.
Not only do Diamonds have fewer accidents, those accidents are also less severe: 85% of all Diamond accidents don't result in any injuries - compared to only 53% of no-injury accidents for all General Aviation Aircraft.

• Severity of Injuries

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How We Make Safety Happen

Like the world's best automotive companies, we believe that avoiding an accident is the best defence - this is Active Safety. Passive safety features protect you should the unexpected happen.

• Active Safety includes:
• unparalleled visibility
• agile yet forgiving flight characteristics
• superb runway performance
• high crosswind capability
• system and structural redundancy
• the latest in avionics technology

• Passive Safety includes:
• a safety cell cabin
• unobstructed headstrike zones
• protected fuel systems

• Damage Tolerance:
• This means that during certification testing, known defects were created in structural parts to show that even with severe damage, the parts could still carry design loads.
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• Failsafe / Redundant:
• Critical structures and joints, including control surface hinges, are designed such that the complete failure of a single element will still allow safe flight. That's why the DA40 and DA42 feature dual redundant spars in the wings and tail surfaces, and dual connections for all critical joints.
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• Fuel System Protection:
• Fuel Tanks
  The DA20, with its aluminum aft fuselage mounted fuel tank is designed to protect the fuel as well as it protects the occupants (this is current state of the art in automotive applications). The dual spar design and aluminum fuel cells of the DA40 and DA42 protect the fuel like no other airplane that carries fuel in the wing. Many airplanes carry fuel directly behind the leading edge skin of the wing - the implications of an impact in that area are obvious!
• 

Fuel Lines
Diamond uses TSO Stainless Steel braided fuel lines throughout the airframe, not just forward of the firewall. They are much stronger than conventional aluminum fuel tubing and allow airframe deformation without rupturing. They cost and weigh more and in our opinion are worth their weight in gold!

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