2012 One of the Safest Years in Aviation History

2012 was one of the safest years in aviation history, further reinforcing the fact that flying remains the safest form of travel.

Worldwide, for the year 2012 as a whole, there were four major accidents involving large western-built commercial airline jets, which resulted in a total of 304 fatalities.

This represented a loss rate of one major accident for every seven million flights. Over the past five years, the industry has more than halved the average loss rate, as a result of continuous improvements in safety performance.

Asia Pacific carriers have maintained their excellent safety performance record, which is fully comparable to that of the leading European and North American airlines. AAPA carriers recorded one major accident during the past five years, the loss of a Boeing 747 freighter with two crew fatalities in 2011.

"Passengers can rest assured that flying is safe, and getting even safer, thanks to the efforts and commitment of a wide range of aviation industry stakeholders in sharing of safety data and the development of best safety management practices," said Mr. Andrew Herdman, Director General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). "AAPA is fully supportive of the latest ICAO safety initiatives, including those addressing runway safety, approach and landing procedures, wildlife hazard management, and wider deployment of safety management systems."

Mr. Herdman added, "In addition to large commercial jet operations, attention also needs to be focused on turboprop aircraft operations, which often take place in more challenging operating environments. We need firm regulation to ensure that all carriers operate to the highest international standards, including wider deployment of automated terrain awareness warning systems for all commercial operations."