There are not two but three kinds of statistics:
Real ones.
Fake ones.
CAA ones.
For an example of really sloppy analysis (too strong a word to use) see the CAA Ontrack report on CAS busts.
To get any meaningful grip on GA safety one would need a more detailed breakdown than I have ever seen. The problem is the vast spectrum of pilot skills, and the vast spectrum of aircraft ages, maintenance practices, and also a pretty wide spectrum of maintenance engineering skills.
There are lots of planes flying whose reliability is far below average - due to engine types, or simply sheer age.
There are also pilots flying who do zero flight planning. They don't get any weather data, and occassionally get badly caught out.
Unless one strips these out into separate categories, it's all a bit like saying the average of 0 and 10 is 5, which is true but the standard deviation shows the mockery of it
