There’s never been a better reason to fly than now as 2017 recorded the safest year in history for commercial passenger air travel.
According to data released by both Dutch consulting firm, To70, and aviation safety group Aviation Safety Network (ASN) airlines recorded no deaths in passenger airlines last year. In fact, no jets crashed in passenger service anywhere in the world that was recorded.
To70 estimated one fatal accident for every 16 million flights for large commercial flights. In its Civil Aviation Safety Review for 2017, the firm reported only two fatal accidents which both involved small turbo-prop aircrafts with 13 deaths in total.
Similarly, the ASN reported no commercial passenger jet deaths in 2017. The deaths recorded were from cargo planes or propeller-driven passenger aircraft.
Even better news is that airliner accidents have been on a consistent decline since 1992 which has been attributed largely to new technology, airplanes and engines that have been introduced to the marketplace in the last quarter century. In addition, improvements in pilot training and to global regulations have also contributed to making our skies safer.
Interestingly, this sharp decline in accidents has occurred amidst significant increases passenger flights. Last year, more people flew to more places than ever before.
Data from the International Civil Aviation Organisation shows that nearly 3.7 billion people flew in 2016 – a number which has more than tripled over the last 25 years. The odds of being involved in a fatal airline accident is now one in 16 million according to the Civil Aviation Safety Review.
However, the report also warns that electronic devices in checked-in luggage pose a growing potential danger. The increasing use of lithium-ion batteries in such devices creates fire risk onboard aircrafts as fires caused from these batteries are difficult to extinguish.
