2019 was one of the safest years for commercial aviation. Isn’t that wonderful news?
According to a report released by Dutch aviation consultancy To70, there were 86 accidents involving commercial aeroplanes, resulting in the death of 257. These casualties came from eight fatal accidents. According to the report, in terms of commercial passenger planes, there was only one fatal accident for every 5.58 million flights.
The 257 fatalities are in sharp contrast to a massive 534 casualties in 2018, which came from 160 accidents including 13 fatal ones.
In total, plane crash fatalities fell by a whopping 50 per cent last year.
This follows a general trend in the airline industry, where accidents have reduced substantially even though air travel among people across the globe has significantly increased.
Despite being one of the safest years, 2019 could not surpass 2017 as the safest year on record for aviation ever. 2017 saw a mere two fatal accidents that resulted in 13 fatalities.
This study by To70 included aircraft that are used by a vast majority of air passengers across the world. It did not include, however, small commuter planes, military planes, cargo planes, and helicopters. Further, it included passengers, aircrew, and any others that might have been impacted or killed on the ground in a plane mishap.
Isn’t this great news to start off this new year? We hope and pray that 2020 be the safest year ever for the aviation industry.
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