NEWS
News: A Statistical Analysis of Commercial Aviation Accidents 1958-2020
The latest Statistical Analysis of Commercial Aviation Accidents is available and updated with 2020 figures. In a year that saw half the number of flights of the previous year, there were still three fatal accidents and six hull losses. The industry fatal accident and hull loss rates are steadily decreasing over time, but this trend faces a unique challenge due to the many aircraft grounded at the peak of the pandemic in 2020. From a safety perspective, this scenario requires all actors to be focused on the right priorities, which is to ensure safety as more aircraft, crews, and passengers return to the skies.
The statistics show that the majority of flights are now made using the latest and safest fourth generation aircraft. Even in 2020, with only 18 million flights compared with the 36 million flights in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic effects. Comparing accident rates by generation of aircraft clearly illustrates the value of the investments made in technology to improve safety.
Fourth generation aircraft have reduced the rate of the Loss Of Control Inflight (LOC-I) accidents, which are the leading cause of fatal accidents, by 89% when compared with third-generation aircraft. The fourth generation, with fly-by-wire technologies and energy management systems, also shows a lower rate of Runway Excursion (RE) and Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents, and has an overall accident rate that is three times lower than the previous third-generation aircraft.
This study underlines the huge improvements that the commercial aviation industry has achieved in safety, especially in the last two decades. It also highlights how technological advances on each new generation of aircraft have helped to reduce accident rates.
Visit the Accident Statistics website, where you can also download the latest brochure in PDF format.