The US actually experiences over 1,000 small plane accidents and 200 deaths a year annually. It used to be only the big airline crashes that make the national news. I think there are more reporting of it now that its getting mainstream attention. But whether they intentionally ramped up the reporting is another mystery.
I read in the /r/aviation forum that mechanics said a lot of planes were held together by minimal maintenance over the years and now its starting to fall apart more and more.
Most accidents are probably not worth mentioning in the news business. However, collisions are hardly normal. Especially on the runway.








