Dramatic increase in African aviation accidents

THE global accident rate for Western-built jet aircraft in 2009 was the second lowest in aviation history, Iata announced in its aviation safety performance report, but fatalities showed a 36,5% increase. Albert Tjoeng, assistant director corporate communications Asia Pacific, said the increase in fatalities, 685 fatalities in 2009 compared with 502 in the previous year, was due to the scale of some accidents, which were greater than previous years. Africa had the highest accident rate, at 9,94, significantly higher than 2008’s rate of 2,12. While carriers on the continent account for only 2% of global traffic, they account for 26% of global Western-built hull losses. The 2009 global accident rate of 0,71 hull losses per million flights of Western-built aircraft, equal to one accident per 1,4 million flights, was a significant improvement on the 0,81 rate recorded in 2008, which saw one accident per 1,2 million flights. The 2009 figures are just above the 2006 rate of 0,65, making 2009 the second lowest in aviation history for aircraft accidents. “Safety is the industry’s number one priority. Even in a decade during which airlines lost an average of US$5bn (R38,6bn) per year, we still managed to improve our safety record. Last year 2,3bn people flew safely,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Iata’s director general and ceo. Giovanni said, while the 2009 result had been laudable, every fatality remained a human tragedy and reminded the association of the ultimate goal of zero accidents and zero fatalities. The three main causes of aircraft accidents during the year were runway excursions, which accounted for 26% of all accidents; ground damage, which accounted for 10% of all accidents and pilot handling, which was noted as a contributing factor in 30% of all accidents. “Safety is a constant challenge. Having made aviation the safest way to travel, further improvements will come only with careful data analysis. We must understand the underlying safety risk trends, not from the handful of accidents each year, but by bringing together and analysing data from millions of safe flights,” he said. Snapshot of results • 2,3bn people flew safely on 35 million flights (27 million jet, eight million turboprop) • 19 accidents involving western-built aircraft compared with 22 in 2008 • 90 accidents (all aircraft types, eastern and western built) compared with 109 in 2008 • 18 fatal accidents (all aircraft types) compared with 23 in 2008 • 685 fatalities compared with 502 in 2008. Melody Brandon (melodyb@nowmedia.co.za)