Only One Fatal Accident Reported Among Scheduled Operations

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published its Annual Safety Review for 2011. In Europe, there was a single fatal accident in scheduled operations during the year. For the decade 2002-2011, the rate of accidents in scheduled operations in EASA Member States was one of the lowest in the world with 1.6 fatal accidents per 10 million flights.

On a global level, accidents of the year 2011 send a contradictory signal. On the one hand, the number of accidents involving passenger fatalities scheduled operations remained high at 16, but the related number of fatalities to passengers dropped from 658 in 2010 to 330. This drop can be mainly attributed to the smaller aircraft involved, as well as to a lower proportion of fatalities.

Commenting on the release of the review, EASA's Executive Director, Patrick Goudou, said:  “This mixed picture does not give us any room for complacency. Efforts must continue from both Regulators and the Industry to work towards a continuous improvement in global aviation safety levels”.

The Annual Safety Review has been expanded with a new chapter to address aerodrome safety covering issues such as runway excursions and bird strikes. In addition, information developed by Eurocontrol on traffic movements in Europe and airline fleet sizes has also been included.

FMI: Read the Report