Montreal - The International Air Transport Association
(IATA) announced that the 2011 accident rate for Western-built jets was the
lowest in aviation history, surpassing the previous mark set in 2010.
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. This represented a 39% improvement compared to 2010, when the accident
rate was 0.61, or one accident for every 1.6 million flights. A hull loss is an
accident in which the aircraft is destroyed or substantially damaged and not
subsequently repaired for whatever reason including a financial decision by the
owner.
"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--works
together every day to make the skies safer based on global standards. As a
result, flying is one of the safest things that a person could do. But, every
accident is one too many, and each fatality is a human tragedy. The ultimate
goal of zero accidents keeps everyone involved in aviation focused on building
an ever safer industry,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
Safety by the numbers:
· 2.8 billion people flew safely on 38 million flights (30
million by jet, 8 million by turboprop)
· 11 hull loss accidents involving Western-built jets compared to 17
in 2010
· 92 total accidents (all aircraft types, Eastern and Western built)
down from 94 in 2010
· 5 fatal hull loss accidents involving Western-built jets down from 8
in 2010
· 22 fatal accidents (all aircraft types) versus 23 in 2010
· 486 fatalities compared to 786 in 2010
· Fatality rate dropped to 0.07 per million passengers from 0.21 in
2010 based on Western-built jet operations
Runway Excursions
Runway excursions, in which an aircraft departs a runway during a landing or
takeoff, were the most common type of accident in 2011 (18% of total
accidents). This is slightly reduced from 2010 when runway excursions accounted
for 21% of total accidents reflecting industry efforts to reduce their
frequency. Despite industry growth, the absolute number of runway excursions
decreased from 23 in 2009 to 20 in 2010 and 17 in 2011. Eighty eight percent of
runway excursions occurred during landing. Unstable approaches--situations
where the aircraft is too fast, above the glide slope, or touches down beyond
the desired touchdown point--and contaminated runways are among the most common
contributing factors to runway excursions on landing.
http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2012-03-06-01.aspx
