FOI Ref: FOI/2021/2820
You asked
How many suicides, or attempted suicides, have been attributed to a General Aviation pilot deliberately crashing a light aircraft in the UK?
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
Suicides in the England and Wales - 2019 registrations: This is our latest publication. Data is available annually from 1981 to 2019. Table 14 shows suicides by method and sex. Our current analysis covers the following methods
Drowning
Fall and Fracture
Poisoning
Hanging, Strangulation and suffocation
Jumping or lying in front of a moving object
Sharp Object
Other
Our Suicides by occupation dataset shows suicides in England and Wales by Standard Occupation Classification (v.2010). For information on the classification hierarchy, follow the link SOC 2010.
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers (SOC Code 3512) are recorded on table 4 by gender. Data is available from 2011 to 2019. However, this does not mention the method of suicide.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Female | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Download this table Table 4: Number of suicides for unit group occupations, males and females aged between 20 to 64 years, deaths registered in England, 2011 to 2019
.xls .csv
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Female | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Download this table Table 4: Number of suicides for unit group occupations, males and females aged between 20 to 64 years, deaths registered in Wales, 2011 to 2019
.xls .csvGiven the small numbers involved, we would be unable to provide the method of suicide and the occupational classification due to disclosure controls to protect the confidentiality of individuals. This is consistent with the disclosure control methodology used for deaths. Section 39 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (SRSA) which renders it an offence to disclose information held by the Statistics Board for statistical purposes that would identify an individual or a body corporate. As we are prohibited by law from publishing statistics in which individual businesses or persons can be identified, we find that Section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies. Section 44 is an absolute exemption and no consideration of the public interest test needs to be applied.
2020 data
Most suicides require an inquest, where a coroner investigates the death. The amount of time it takes to hold an inquest causes a lag between the date of death and the date of death registration, referred to as a registration delay. Registration delays for deaths caused by suicide tend to be 5 to 6 months on average. Suicides in England and Wales 2020, including occupational breakdown will be published in September/October 2021.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch, part of the Department of Transport may be better placed to answer your enquiry. They can be contacted here or by calling 0300 330 3000.
Attempted suicides
Unfortunately, we do not collect data on attempted suicides. Our suicide data is derived from death registration data following coroner's inquests. We would only be notified of a death. NHS Digital may be able to provide you with this information. They can be contacted via email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.