The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the 2012 global accident rate for Western-built jets was the bottom in aviation history.
The 2012 global Western-built jet accident rate (measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jets) was 0.20, the equivalent of 1 accident every 5 million flights.
This represented a 46% improvement over 2011, when the accident rate was 0.37, or one accident for each 2.7 million flights.
IATA’s 240+ member airlines recorded no Western-built jet hull losses in 2012.
“The industry’s 2012 record safety performance was one of the best in history. Every day approximately 100,000 flights arrive safely at their destination. Airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, manufacturers and safety regulators interact to confirm every flight is as safe as possible. Their dedication and cooperation has made air travel remarkably safe. Nevertheless, there’s still work to do. Every accident is one too many and every fatality is a human tragedy. The primary commercial airline flight befell on 1 January 1914. Since then the first actual flight the airline industry has made continuous improvement in safety its top priority,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
Safety by the numbers:
* On the brink of 3 billion people flew safely on 37.5 million flights (29.8 million by jet, 7.7 million by turboprop)
* 75 accidents (all aircraft types, Eastern and Western built), down from 92 in 2011
* 15 fatal accidents (all aircraft types) versus 22 in 2011
* 6 hull loss accidents involving Western-built jets in comparison to 11 in 2011
* 3 fatal hull loss accidents involving Western-built jets, down from 5 in 2011
* 414 fatalities in comparison to 486 in 2011
* Fatality rate slightly increased to 0.08 per million passengers from 0.07 in 2011 in line with Western-built jet operations
* IATA member airlines outperformed the industry average for accidents of all aircraft types (0.71 accidents per million flights in comparison with 2.01), accounting for 13 of the 75 accidents
IOSA
Airlines at the IATA Operational Safety Audit Registry (IOSA) experienced no Western-built jet hull loss accidents. The complete accident rate (all aircraft types) for IOSA registered carriers was 4.three times better than the speed for non-IOSA carriers (0.96 vs. 4.11). Today 381 airlines are at the IOSA registry (www.iata.org/registry). For IATA’s 240+ airlines IOSA is a demand for membership within the association. That some 140 non-member airlines are at the registry is a transparent indication that IOSA has become the worldwide benchmark for airline operational safety management.
“IOSA again demonstrated its positive impact on aviation safety. Carriers at the IOSA registry recorded an accident rate that was greater than four times better than their non-registered counterparts. Not just did IOSA registered carriers have a lower accident rate however the accidents were less severe with regards to fatalities and damage to aircraft,” said Tyler.
During 2012, IATA continued its work with airline members to develop the improved IOSA. Enhanced IOSA adds another dimension with a focal point on airlines’ internal quality assurance program to implement self-auditing methodology in response to IOSA principles.
Regional highlights—Western-built jet hull loss rates
* The subsequent regions outperformed the worldwide Western-built jet hull loss rate of 0.20: Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (0.0), Europe (0.15), Middle East and North Africa (0.0), North America (0.0), and North Asia (0.0)
* The subsequent regions saw their safety performance improve in 2012 in comparison to 2011: the CIS (from 1.06 to 0.00), Latin America and the Caribbean (from 1.28 to 0.42), Middle East and North Africa (from 2.02 to 0.0) and North America (from 0.10 to 0.0).
* Right here regions saw safety performance decline in 2012 compare to 2011: Africa (from 3.27 to three.71), Asia-Pacific (from 0.25 to 0.48) and Europe (from 0.0 to 0.15).
* Latin America and the Caribbean posted a second consecutive year of improvement (0.42 vs. 1.28) however the region’s rate was still higher than the arena average.
* Africa registered a better rate, from 3.27 in 2011 to three.71 in 2012, and this is still the worst performer by a huge margin.
Safety in Africa
Africa’s Western-built jet hull loss rate showed a much better rate versus 2011 (3.71 vs. 3.27). The region’s accident rate for all aircraft types greater than doubled (12.44 accidents per million flights from 6.17 in 2011), with 13 accidents in 2012 (up from 8 accidents in 2011).
African airlines at the IOSA registry had no accidents.
“Africa is a continent divided on performance. Airlines at the IOSA registry are functioning at or above industry average rates. However the continent’s performance is much from satisfactory. It’s going to be as safe to travel by air in Africa because it is in every other portion of the realm,” said Tyler.
In May 2012, IATA, with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and a number of alternative organizations, committed to an Africa Strategic Improvement Action Plan aimed toward addressing safety deficiencies and strengthening regulatory oversight inside the region by 2015. The Plan was endorsed as component of the ‘Abuja Declaration’ by the Ministerial meeting on Aviation Security and safety of the African Union in July and endorsed on the Assembly of the African Union in January 2013.
“Stakeholders are united of their commitment to bring all of Africa to world class safety levels in the course of the adoption of worldwide standards. Passage of the Abuja Declaration is a key step along this path,” Tyler said. Critical to the success of this plan is mandatory adoption of IOSA by African states.
Accident analysis
Runway excursions, by which an aircraft departs a runway during a landing or takeoff, were the most typical variety of accident in 2012 (28% of total accidents). Most (82%) of runway excursions occur following a stable approach where the aircraft floated beyond the traditional touchdown point, or braking devices didn’t activate in a timely manner, or because directional control was not maintained after landing.
This kind of accident continues to offer challenges for the industry. Despite a rise within the runway excursion accident rate in 2012, the five-year trend in actual accidents remains downward (2008:28, 2009:23, 2010:20, 2011:17, 2012:21). In 2013, IATA will continue to work with industry partners to support regional runway safety seminars and to update the IATA Runway Excursion Risk Reduction (RERR) toolkit. Furthermore, IOSA now requires that airlines utilize Flight Data Analysis (FDA) programs that may help identify precursors to runway excursions.
Loss of control in-flight
Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) isn’t essentially the mostsome of the most common accident categories (In 2008 there have been 14 LOC-I accidents followed by: 2009:9, 2010:10, 2011:8, 2012:6). However, LOC-I accidents bring about the foremost fatalities (43% of all fatal accidents and 60% of all fatalities from 2008-2012). IATA is operating with industry partners to implement an international LOC-I prevention program a good way to assist operators to grasp the standards fascinated about these events. Moreover, this program will provide guidance for an enhanced pilot training and establish a process for feedback into the IATA Training and Qualification Initiative (ITQI).
Sharing information
Data sharing is essential to identifying trends that may indicate a possible safety issue. In 2009, IATA launched the worldwide Safety Information Center (GSIC). This incorporates operational and safety information fed by seven different databases. These are accident data, operational safety reports, IOSA and IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) audit findings, Flight Data eXchange (FDX), an aircraft ground damage database and a brand new cabin safety operational report database. Greater than 460 different organizations around the world are already submitting information to GSIC. Continuing with the work started with GSIC, IATA is introducing the recent operational data management initiative, incorporating GSIC and expanding data management into other arenas similar to operations and infrastructure.
“Data collection and analysis underpins all safety efforts. The more we understand about how accidents and incidents occur, the higher equipped we’re to spot the danger factors. This permits us to take mitigation steps long before risks become a security issue which could contribute to an accident”, said Tyler.
“In a bit multiple lifetime, aviation has gone from being a high risk activity to a routine portion of everyday life. As commercial aviation prepares to go into its second century, we must live as much as the ideals of our industry’s pioneers and recommit ourselves to creating aviation ever safer,” said Tyler.
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