One accident for every 4.4 million flights: 2014 was safest aviation year ever
PUBLISHED : Monday, 09 March, 2015, 12:50pm
UPDATED : Monday, 09 March, 2015, 5:38pm
Danny Lee [email protected]
Families of MH370 passengers continue to seek answers a year after the plane disappeared en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters
The fewest number of annual air accidents in history were recorded last year as more flights took off than ever before – but the number of fatalities from air crashes rose after high-profile disasters involving Asian airlines.
Last year, 12 air accidents caused 641 deaths from a total of 38 million flights, with one accident for every 4.4 million journeys, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). From 2009-2013, the average figure stood at 19 accidents and 517 fatalities.
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 on March 8 last year caused the loss of 239 lives, including 153 Chinese nationals. Then on December 28, 162 people died when Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea.
However, the July 17 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine, with the loss of 298 lives, was not counted as an accident.
“In last year we saw a reduction in the number of fatal accidents – and that would be true even if we were to include MH17 in the total,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and chief executive, who will be speaking at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Hong Kong on Monday.
“The greatest tribute that we can pay to those who lost their lives in aviation-related tragedies is to continue our dedication to make flying ever safer. And that is exactly what we are doing.”
The rate of accidents involving turboprop aircraft in North Asia soared last year – contributed to by TransAsia Airways flight 222 crashing in bad weather on approach to Magong Airport in Penghu Island, Taiwan on July 23. The air disaster killed 48 people, while 10 survived.
“Any accident is one too many and safety is always aviation’s top priority. While aviation safety was in the headlines last year, the data show that flying continues to improve its safety performance,” Tyler said.
One of the batteries on a black-box locator beacon had expired more than a year before MH370 went missing, according to an interim report released yesterday by the official investigation team probing the loss of the jetliner.
The 584-page report - released on the first anniversary of the plane's disappearance - detailed the aircraft's maintenance record, communications systems and personal information about the plane's crew, including their financial situation.
Although the voice recorder's beacon was still functional, it is not clear what impact the expired battery would have had on the search.
