Methodology and data coverage
How CrashAtlas compiles historical aviation accident records, resolves conflicting details, places events on the map, and communicates the limits of the dataset.
What the database represents
CrashAtlas is a historical reference, not a live safety rating. Each record represents an aviation accident or incident documented by one or more public sources. The database spans different eras, countries, operators, aircraft types, and reporting systems, so the level of detail varies substantially between records.
An event appearing in the database means that it is part of the collected historical record. Its absence does not prove that no event occurred. Early aviation, military operations, remote regions, and records published only in local archives are less completely documented than recent commercial aviation.
Source selection
Records are compiled from publicly available aviation databases, official investigation material, historical archives, reputable reference publications, and established photographic collections. When sources disagree, CrashAtlas prefers the account closest to the original investigation or contemporary record and avoids filling gaps with speculation.
Evidence hierarchy
- Official investigation reports and state safety authorities
- Contemporary operational or archival records
- Specialist aviation reference databases and publications
- Reputable secondary reporting with attributable facts
Normalization and identity
Names change across time and sources. Airlines merge, military units use translated names, aircraft variants are recorded at different levels of specificity, and registrations may be reformatted. CrashAtlas stores the most specific supported value while preserving the operator and aircraft identity associated with the event.
Records are distinguished using the available combination of date, operator, flight number, registration, aircraft, and location. URL-safe archive labels that differ only by punctuation are consolidated so one public category URL represents one normalized group.
Locations and map coordinates
A map point represents the best supported accident location, not necessarily the departure airport, destination airport, or nearest named settlement. Exact coordinates are used when they are documented. Otherwise, the point may represent an approximate site inferred from a described distance, bearing, region, or named geographic feature.
Historical place names and national boundaries can change. Country groupings are intended to make the archive navigable and may follow the recorded location rather than a modern geopolitical interpretation.
Counts are not risk rates
Raw accident and fatality totals do not measure how safe an airline, country, year, or aircraft type is. A meaningful risk rate needs an exposure denominator such as departures, flight hours, passenger journeys, or fleet utilization. CrashAtlas does not currently calculate those denominators.
High counts often reflect a long service life, a large fleet, extensive aviation activity, wartime use, or stronger historical reporting. Comparisons should therefore be treated as descriptions of the collected record rather than rankings of operational safety.
Causes and uncertainty
Cause categories summarize the broad pattern supported by the public record. They do not replace an investigation's findings and should not be read as assigning legal responsibility. Complex accidents can involve several contributing factors; records remain unknown when the available evidence does not support a responsible classification.
Corrections
Historical data improves when better sources become available. Useful corrections identify the record, the field in question, the proposed value, and an attributable source. CrashAtlas reviews corrections before changing the public record.