hull loss

{{Short description|Aviation accident that damages the aircraft beyond economical repair}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}

File:NTSBAsiana214Fuselage.jpg - a Boeing 777-200ER - lying at San Francisco International Airport.]]

A hull loss is an aviation accident that damages the aircraft beyond economic repair,{{Cite book | doi = 10.1002/9780470744734.ch11| title = The Global Airline Industry| chapter = Chapter 11. Aviation Safety and Security| pages = 313–342| year = 2009| last1 = Barnett | first1 = A. | isbn = 9780470744734| editor1-first = P.| editor1-last = Belobaba| editor2-first = Amedeo| editor2-last = Odoni| editor3-first = Cynthia | editor3-last = Barnhart}} resulting in a total loss. The term also applies to situations where the aircraft is missing, the search for its wreckage is terminated, or the wreckage is logistically inaccessible.{{cite book | last=Jones|first=Richard|title =20% Chance of Rain: Exploring the Concept of Risk| publisher =John Wiley & Sons| year =2011 | isbn =978-1118116364}}

The aviation industry uses the metric of "Hull losses per 100,000 flight departures" to measure the relative risk of a given flight or aircraft. There is no official ICAO or NTSB definition.{{cite web

| title = Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents - Worldwide Operations {{!}} 1959-2022

| publisher = Boeing

| date = September 2023

| url = https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2023-10/statsum_summary_2022.pdf

| page = 28

| access-date = January 3, 2024 }}

From 1959 to 2006, 384 of 835 hull losses were non-fatal.{{cite web| url = http://www.flightsafety.org/asw/sept07/asw_sept07_p51-54.pdf?dl=1| title = Fewer Fatalities in Hull Loss Accidents| publisher = Flightsafety.org| author = Rick Darby| access-date = 21 Dec 2013| archive-date = January 30, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210130234840/http://www.flightsafety.org/asw/sept07/asw_sept07_p51-54.pdf?dl=1| url-status = live}}

{{anchor|constructive}} Constructive hull loss takes into account other incidental expenses beyond repair, such as salvage, logistical costs of repairing non-airworthy aircraft within the confines of the incident site, and recertifying the aircraft.

Airlines typically have insurance to cover hull loss. Their policies—like many covering assets that are subject to depreciation—typically pay the insured a formulaic used-item value. A damaged aircraft will often simply be scrapped.

Recent discussions within the aviation industry have raised the importance of factoring in new variables such as environmental impact and regulatory restrictions when evaluating constructive hull losses. Additionally, advancements in aircraft salvage technologies have reduced the number of cases classified as total losses by enabling more cost-effective recovery and repair efforts.