The Importance of Carbon Monoxide Detectors:
A review of NTSB reports between 1982 and 2020 identified 31 accidents attributed to CO poisoning (see the appendix for a list of these accidents). The data show that 77% of those accidents were fatal and led to 42 fatalities and 4 serious injuries. CO detectors were not found or reported in 30 of those accident reports. Although these accidents can be more prevalent in colder months when pilots are more likely to use aircraft heating systems, accidents related to CO poisoning happen throughout the year; of the 31 accidents between 1982 and 2020, 6 occurred between June and August. The FAA’s service difficulty report (SDR) database also showed at least 45 incidents involving a defect, leak, or failure in engine exhaust systems between 1993 and 2020.
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AIR2201.pdf
Kyle Weinzirl Anchorage FAASTeam, kyle.weinzirl@faa.gov