Good year for European aviation safety, but challenges remain

Citation

(2009), "Good year for European aviation safety, but challenges remain", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 81 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2009.12781aab.013

Good year for European aviation safety, but challenges remain

Article Type: Safety topics and notes From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 81, Issue 1

The year 2007 was a good year for aviation safety in Europe. The number of fatal accidents involving aircraft registered in Member States of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) performing commercial air transport operations dropped from six in 2006 to three in 2007. This accounts for only some 5 per cent of all fatal accidents that year.

Regarding aircraft registered in the rest of the world, the number of fatal accidents in the same type of operation increased from 36 in 2006 to 54 in 2007 and is above the decade average (52). Nevertheless, and despite the tragic accident of a Spanair MD-82 on 20 August 2008 which caused 154 fatalities (not subject of the report), the trend for the decade still indicates that the number of accidents world-wide in commercial air transport is declining. The report also includes data on accident rates for commercial helicopter operations, for aircraft involved in General Aviation and for light aircraft.

The Annual Safety Review is compiled by EASA to inform the public of safety levels in civil aviation. The data used are provided by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the NLR Air Transport Safety Institute and the Agency’s 31 members, which include the 27 Member States of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Maintaining and improving aviation safety in Europe and world-wide is the main priority for the Agency. Through specific certification, rulemaking and standardisation activities, the Agency actively engages in accident prevention. It furthermore fosters co-operation between regulators and industry through the European Strategic Safety Initiative. Launched in 2006, ESSI aims at further enhancing safety for European citizens, through analysis of data and co-ordination with safety initiatives world-wide.