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Date: 1 January 2005 the Aviation Safety Network / Harro Ranter
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The Aviation Safety Network today released last year's airliner
accident statistics showing a record low total of 425 airliner accident
fatalities
1),
as a result of 26 accidents. Africa still is the most unsafe region.
By comparison, the second-safest year, 1955, recorded 572 fatalities.
With regards to the number of accidents, just one year was safer: 2003
when 25 accidents occurred.
The decreasing number of accidents is in line with the downward trend
that started in 1989.
Despite the fact that 2004 was an extremely safe year, there is a reason
for concern in Africa. It was again the most unsafe continent: 27% of
all fatal airliner accidents happened in Africa, while the region only
accounts for approximately 3 percent of all world aircraft departures.
The moving 10-year average trend shows an almost continuous increase in
the average number of fatal accidents for the last ten years.
On the other hand, trends show a decrease in the number of fatal
accidents for North and South America over the past six years and
notably for Europe, with just one fatal accident last year.
Another area for concern are cargo plane crashes. Half (13) of all
accidents involved cargo planes.
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Last year's accidents again highlighted the four aviation safety
priorities, identified by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF):
* Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
CFIT occurs when an airworthy aircraft under the control of the flight
crew is flown unintentionally into terrain, obstacles or water, usually
with no prior awareness by the crew.
CFIT accidents in 2004 were probably responsible for about 30% of all
fatal accidents. .
* Approach and landing
Twelve accidents happened in the approach and landing phase last year.
On February 10 for instance when a Fokker 50 crashed on approach to
Sharjah when both props went into reverse, killing 43 of the 46
occupants.
* Loss of control
Again several accidents last year can be attributed to a loss of control
of some kind. In January for instance, a Boeing 737 entered a high-speed
descent with an extreme bank angle until it struck the sea off Egypt.
* Human factors
It's too early to tell in what cases flight crew actions were a causal
factor in accidents in 2004. However the March 4 crash of an Ilyushin
IL76
cargo plane was attributed to poor intra-crew communication.
Please bear in mind that human factors does not mean "pilot error"; in
human factors it is important to determine which mistakes were made,
why, under what circumstances etc.
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The Aviation Safety Network is an independent organisation located in
the Netherlands. Founded in 1996, it has the aim to provide everyone
with a (professional) interest in aviation with up-to-date, complete and
reliable authoritative information on airliner accidents and safety
issues.
The figures have been compiled using the airliner accident database of
the Aviation Safety Network, the Internet leader in aviation safety
information. The Aviation Safety Network uses information from
authoritative and official sources like NTSB, ICAO etc.
More information
http://aviation-safety.net
http://aviation-safety.net/pubs/ (ASN Statistical Summary 2004 -
full report)
Harro Ranter
the Aviation Safety Network
e-mail: hr@aviation-safety.net
1) definitions
Accident
"An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which
takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the
intention of flight until such time as all such persons have
disembarked, in which a person on the airplane is fatally injured and
the airplane is damaged beyond repair." This excludes criminal
occurrences like hijackings and sabotage.
Airliner
"Commercial multi-engine airplane which, in certificated maximum
passenger configuration, is capable of carrying 14 or more passengers."
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