Dublinpilot:
But that is only true of commerica air travel. The risks involved in light GA are significantly higher than that.
Well yes and no. If you lump all GA risk together then yes, you're correct. But then not all flights are of equal risk. Some of us, doing this as a hobby and not a necessity, simply stay in the airport restaurant drinking coffee and swapping lies when the weather is dodgy. Others using their plane as a "must get there" device, are more inclined to take risks. I for one have long realized that as a VFR day/night/on-top pilot, if I MUST get there, my VW is a better bet than my Beech so I play it safe and drive.
Flying VFR on a fine day in a basic, simple, spamcan doesn't carry the same risk as trying to do single-pilot IFR in icing conditions in a twin when the critical engine conks out. It is possible to manage one's risk, especially if one only flies for fun, by being selective in the types of flights we do and the conditions we fly in. At this time of the year in my part of the world, sometimes snoozing safely by the wood stove on a Saturday afternoon looks an awful lot more attractive than flying... or if I'm really up to it, an afternoon of skiing instead (which is probably at least as high risk as flying at my age
)