Safety data

Teams across United work continually to identify and elevate safety risks related to employee injury and equipment damage. Capturing, acting on and reporting performance data is an important part of constant improvement.

OSHA recordable injury rate
Number of injuries per 200,000 hours worked

  • 2019: 4.26
  • 2020: 3.36
  • 2021: 4.53
  • 2022: 4.58
  • 2022 Target rate: 4.39

Lost-time injury rate
Number of injuries per 200,000 hours worked

  • 2019: 2.02
  • 2020: 1.64
  • 2021: 2.07
  • 2022: 2.22
  • 2022 Target rate: 2.03

Mainline aircraft damage rate
Number of damages per 10,000 departures

  • 2019: 1.22
  • 2020: 1.39
  • 2021: 1.44
  • 2022: 1.47
  • 2022 Target rate: 1.37

Note: Data is year-end rates as of January 2023

Injuries

We are not alone in seeking solutions to workplace injuries. Over 40% of reported injuries are due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). That’s why we have partnered with the National Safety Council (NSC) to join other organizations to sign a pledge that boosts our commitment to improve workplace safety and reduce MSDs by 25% over the next few years.

Close partnerships and best practice sharing is a must in our industry as it renders safer environments that benefit all travelers. Other injury types such as foot injuries and slips, trips and falls are high on our mitigation radar. In 2022, we launched a comprehensive safety shoe program for ground crews and have experienced a 5% rate reduction in injuries.

Damage

We are researching technology-based mitigations to protect our aircraft and other equipment. Innovation technologies such as anti-collision sensors on vehicles operate near aircraft, virtual reality aircraft door training to prevent inadvertent slide deployments, autonomous passenger jetbridges that can reduce the opportunity for malfunctions and aircraft damage, and finding creative and engaging ways to train front-line supervisors on the importance of damage prevention has been a key focus.

Reduction goals

In order to drive down injury and damage rates, as a system, we are tracking toward attainable goals. For 2023, we are working to reduce our OSHA recordable injury rate by 1%, Lost Time Injury (LTI) rate by 1%, and Mainline Aircraft Damages by 7%.

As we continue to build a stronger safety culture, we are relentless in emphasizing the criticality of following standard operating procedures and reporting safety concerns so they are handled expeditiously.