International Air Transport Association Reports Second Safest Year on Record

According to statistics from the International Air Transport Association, the aviation industry for 2009 enjoyed its second safest year on record. The 2009 global accident rate, which is actually measured in hull losses per million flights of Western built jet aircraft, was 0.71. Overall, this is equal to one accident for every 1.4 million flights. This is a very significant improvement on the 0.81 percent rate which was seen in 2008.

The International Air Transport Association’s director general, Giovanni Bisignani, said that safety is the industry’s top priority. Even in a decade during which airlines lost an average of $5 billion per year, they are still able to improve their safety record. Just last year, 2.3 billion people flew safely. On that same note, every fatality is a human tragedy that reminds everyone that the ultimate goal would be zero accidents.

The 2009 rate was the second lowest ever in aviation history. The best rating was the 2006 rating of 0.65. However, there was till a total of 19 accidents involving western built jet aircraft. 18 of these led to fatalities.

In total, there are about 685 fatalities that were recorded last year. Nearly a third of these are attributed to the loss of Air France Flight 447, which crashed over the Atlantic Ocean killing all 228 people that were on board the plane.

Runway departures continue to be a challenge, however. In fact, they account for 26 percent of all accidents, while ground damage to aircraft accounts for a further ten percent. Pilot handling was noted as a contributing factor in some 30 percent of all accidents.