The value of aviation in Minnesota (2016 data)

• General Aviation has a $12.2 billion impact on the State of Minnesota through its network of 135 public airports.

• General Aviation has created 164,900 jobs in Minnesota, and provides more than $6.5billion in labor income annually.

• General Aviation contributes more than $150 billion to the U.S. economy annually and employs more than 1,265,000 people, nationally.

• In the U.S., General Aviation aircraft fly almost 24 million hours and carry 166 million passengers annually.

• There are nearly 4,000 paved General Aviation airports open to the public in the U.S. while scheduled airlines serve about 500 airports nationwide.

• Over two-thirds of all the hours flown by General Aviation aircraft are for business purposes and General Aviation is the primary training ground for most commercial airline and military pilots.

Note: There are 6,306 registered aircraft in the state of Minnesota (2016 data). According to the NTSB in 2016, “While airline accidents have become relatively rare in the United States, pilots and passengers involved in general aviation operations still die at alarming rates. Between 2008 and 2014, about 47 percent of fatal fixed-wing GA accidents in the U.S. involved pilots losing control of their aircraft in flight, resulting in 1,210 fatalities. Pilots can reduce these accidents through education, technologies, flight currency, self-assessment, and vigilant situational awareness in the cockpit.”