More deaths in 2014 from fewer airline crashes – industry report

HONG KONG: The number of deaths in jetliner disasters spiked last year, despite there being fewer accidents in total, an international airline industry group said yesterday.

The International Air Transport Association said in its annual safety report that 641 people died in airline accidents last year.

Its figures don’t include the victims in the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 downed over Ukraine as it was not an accident. There were 210 deaths in 2013 and the five-year average is 517 deaths.

The association said last year was marked by two “extraordinary and tragic events”, both involving Malaysia Airlines: Flight MH17 and earlier in the year the disappearance of Flight MH370, carrying 238 people.

The number of fatal airplane crashes fell to 12 last year from 16 the previous year and the five-year average of 19.

The group said that translated into one serious accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or severely damaged for every 4.4 million flights, a record low. In 2013, the so-called hull loss rate was one plane written off for every 2.4 million flights.

The association’s directorgeneral, Tony Tyler, said flying overall was getting safer, despite a string of recent disasters involving Asian carriers that has raised concerns about flight safety and pushed up the region’s serious accident rate.

“It would be a mistake to think that flying in Asia is unsafe, but it would also be naive to think there were no issues at all,” said Tyler.

Airlines have expanded rapidly over the past decade in Asia, particularly in SouthEast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, straining the region’s aviation infrastructure and forcing carriers to scramble for pilots.

Three of last year’s 12 plane crashes involved jet aircraft and accounted for the bulk of the deaths. In December, an AirAsia jet carrying 162 people crashed into the Java Sea. In July, an Air Algerie jet went down in Mali during bad weather, killing all 116 aboard.

A TransAsia turboprop crashed last month, killing more than 40 people. – Sapa-AP

Three of last year’s 12 plane crashes involved jet aircraft