St. Ex
Fatal in terms of financial damages........
no one has to die for an accident to become fatal. if that happened I would have used deadly as an adjective.
Just to enlighten you regarding the terms used to officially describe air crash investigations, here are some definitions from the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which is the basis for the 'Nall Report' published yearly:
NTSB Definitions
Accident/Incident (NTSB Part 830)
The following definitions of terms used in this report have been
extracted from NTSB Part 830 of the Federal Aviation
Regulations. It is included in most commercially available
FAR/AIM digests and should be referenced for detailed information.
Aircraft Accident
An occurrence incidental to flight in which, “as a result of the
operation of an aircraft, any person (occupant or nonoccupant)
receives fatal or serious injury or any aircraft receives substantial
damage.”
• A fatal injury is one that results in death within 30 days of
the accident.
• A serious injury is one that:
(1) Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing
within seven days from the date the injury was received.
(2) Results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of
fingers, toes, or nose).
(3) Involves lacerations that cause severe hemorrhages, nerve,
muscle, or tendon damage.
(4) Involves injury to any internal organ. Or
(5) Involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting
more than five percent of body surface.
• A minor injury is one that does not qualify as fatal or
serious.
• Destroyed means that an aircraft was demolished beyond
economical repair, i.e., substantially damaged to the extent that
it would be impracticable to rebuild it and return it to an airworthy
condition. (This may not coincide with the definition of
“total loss” for insurance purposes. Because of the variability of
insurance limits carried and such additional factors as time on
engines and propellers, and aircraft condition before an accident,
an aircraft may be “totaled” even though it is not considered
“destroyed” for NTSB accident-reporting purposes.)
• Substantial damage for accident reporting purposes does
not necessarily correlate with “substantial” in terms of financial
loss. Contrary to popular misconception, there is no dollar
value that defines “substantial” damage. Because of the high
cost of many repairs, large sums may be spent to repair damage
resulting from incidents that do not meet the NTSB definition
of substantial damage.
(1) Except as provided below, substantial damage means damage
or structural failure that adversely affects the structural
strength, performance, or flight characteristics of the aircraft,
and which would normally require major repair or replacement
of the affected part.
(2) Engine failure, damage limited to an engine, bent fairings
or cowling, dented skin, small puncture holes in the skin or fabric,
ground damage to rotor or propeller blades, damage to
landing gear, wheels, tires, flaps, engine accessories, brakes, or
wing tips are not considered “substantial damage.”
• Minor damage is any damage that does not qualify as substantial,
such as that in item (2) under substantial damage.
This is rather self explanatory and I hope this clarifies the issue for you and helps make you more knowledgeable than the local media.