Sat, Jan 09, 2010
One Fatal Accident Overshadows Good Safety Record
2009 was the year with the lowest number of fatal accidents on
record for the 31 Member States of the European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA), according to preliminary data. However this good
safety record was overshadowed by the accident of an Airbus A330
over the Atlantic ... the only fatal accident for airplanes
registered in an EASA Member State in commercial air transport.
Despite this, the number of fatalities in 2009 (228 fatalities)
is significantly above the decade average. The high number of
non-fatal accidents (24) in 2009 indicates that further progress in
safety is necessary. In comparison, the decade 1999-2008 had every
year on average 27 non-fatal and 5 fatal accidents with 92
fatalities.
For other world regions the safety record in 2009 has been
marred by an accident of an Airbus A310 in Comoros and a Tu-154 in
Iran. In total there were 41 fatal accidents involving aircraft
registered outside EASA Member States. This is below the decade
average of 51 fatal accidents (1999-2008), but not the lowest in
the decade. In these accidents there were 573 fatalities, the
second lowest number in the decade.
Preliminary data shows that in 2009, the number of fatal
accidents worldwide in commercial air transport with helicopters
was the second lowest for the decade: only in the year 2000 the
number of fatal accidents was lower. When looking at the three-year
moving average, it appears that for the last five years the average
is more or less constant. The accident numbers for EASA Member
States remain small and no further conclusions can be drawn. Two
fatal accidents occurred in Europe in 2009. Two people died in
Poland when an emergency medical helicopter crashed. In April,
sixteen people died when a helicopter crashed during an offshore
flight from an oil platform to Aberdeen, Scotland.
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