Aeromexico crash: Stronger planes mean fewer fatalities, say officials
Passengers in plane crashes like the Aeromexico accident — in which no one died — have better chances of survival due to better aircraft construction and safety standards, experts say.
People are now less likely to be trapped by collapsed seats and floors, especially if the plane comes to rest more or less level and the accident occurs on flat ground and at lower speeds, as happened with Tuesday’s crash in northern Mexico.
Survival rates are higher than ever in part because “airplanes are stronger than ever,” said Adrian Young, an air-safety investigator from the Netherlands-based consultancy To70.
Other improvements in recent decades include wider use of materials that burn more slowly and without giving off toxic fumes, and smarter airport layouts that eliminate obstacles near runways.
In the end, though, “Good fortune is crucial in any accident,” Young said Wednesday.
Authorities in Mexico said there were no fatalities among the 97 passengers and four crew members aboard the Embraer 190 jet that crashed moments after takeoff in Durango, sending plumes of black and gray smoke into the sky. Rescuers took 49 people to hospitals; most of them had minor injuries.
On average, about 56 percent of passengers survive airline accidents in which at least one person is killed.
Takeoff accidents occur on or near the runway, so obstacles on the ground — runway lights, fences, ditches and embankments — can lead to more extensive damage to the plane and increase the risk of an immediate fire, said Harro Ranter, CEO of Aviation Safety Network, which compiles a database on accidents.
“Luckily the area around the runway at Durango was relatively flat and covered with some bushes and no hazardous obstacles or ditches,” Ranter said. “This likely caused all on board to survive (or) else it could have ended up a whole lot worse.”
There have been other serious accidents in which everyone on board survived despite major damage — even destruction — of the plane.
In 2016, everyone escaped after an engine explosion during takeoff caused a fire that severely damaged an American Airlines plane at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. In 2013, a Lion Air jet missed the runway, crashed in water and broke in two near Bali, Indonesia, yet all 108 people on board got out alive.
And in a famous event from 2009 that inspired a movie, US Airways pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles safely landed their US Airways jet on the Hudson River after the plane’s engines were knocked out by striking a flock of geese during takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The improved odds of surviving a crash are partly due to advances in technology. Aircraft engineers have reinforced areas that proved to be weak in previous crashes. Seats are stronger to withstand violent impact. Seat materials and carpets are treated with fire-retardant chemicals to give passengers more precious time to escape before fires spread. Fire-suppression systems in cargo holds are now mandatory.
Many of those improvements involved learning from investigations into past disasters. That has led to fewer airline accidents and fewer fatal crashes. Many safety experts regard 2017 as the safest year yet.
The Aviation Safety Network counted just 10 fatal accidents involving commercial aircraft last year, causing 44 deaths. There were nearly 600 deaths a year on average over the previous 10 years, according to the group.