Global aviation accident rate reaches new low
One mishap occurred for every 2.7m flights in 2011, as against one for every 1.6m in 2010
Dubai: The 2011 accident rate for Western-built jets was the lowest in aviation history, surpassing the previous low set in 2010, aviation watchdog the International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday.
The 2011 global accident rate (measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jets) was 0.37, the equivalent of one accident every 2.7 million flights, a 39 per cent improvement over 2010, when the accident rate was 0.61, or one accident for every 1.6 million flights, the Geneva-based aviation trade body said in a statement. The global aircraft accident rate in 2011 was the lowest in aviation history."
On a global scale there were 92 accidents (all aircraft types, Eastern and Western built) in 2011, down from 94 in 2010, according to the IATA, resulting in 486 fatalities last year compared to 786 the previous year.
While most regions improved their accident rates, the Middle East and North Africa region saw it worsen to 2.02 in 2011 from 0.72 the previous year, according to IATA estimates.
"The rate for Africa improved by 56 per cent to 3.27 from 7.41 in 2010 but still was the worst performing region in the industry," IATA said in a statement.
The Middle East, meanwhile, experienced two crashes last year. The first one was a seaplane — the McKinnon G21G turboprop — in February at Al Ain International Airport shortly after take-off, killing four American aviators.
‘Number one priority'
The second accident involved an Italian prototype plane — an M346 — which crashed in mid-November off Dubai's coast on its way home after taking part in the Dubai Airshow, with no fatalities.
"Safety is the air transport industry's number one priority. It is also a team effort. The entire stakeholder community — airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and safety regulators — work together every day to make the skies safer based on global standards," Tony Tyler, IATA's director general and CEO, said in a statement, adding that every accident is one too many.
Globally, accident rates in the period saw Asia-Pacific at 0.25; Europe 0.0; North America 0.10; and North Asia at 0.0, performing better than the global average of 0.37.
IATA said the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North Asia recorded "improvements" compared to their performance in 2010, while North America remained the same. It added that the Commonwealth of Independent States at 1.06 was higher than the global average and also higher than last year (0.0). Latin America and the Caribbean performed better than 2010 (1.28 in 2011 vs 1.87 in 2010), but was still almost 3.5 times worse than the global average, IATA stated.
IATA member airlines outperformed the industry average for accidents of all aircraft types by 23 per cent, the aviation body said, recording 1.84 accidents per million flights compared to 2.40 in 2010.
