The safety record of Australian-registered charter aircraft improved in 2009 after two years in which the numbers of aircraft involved and accidents had risen, according to a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) comparing accident data in the 1999–2009 period.1 In commercial air transport, the number of aircraft involved in serious incidents also declined in 2009 after a couple of years of increases.2
“A general increase has been observed in the number of VH- [Australian-] and foreign-registered commercial air transport aircraft incidents over the 11 years of observation,” the report says. “This increase may be attributed to the introduction of the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003, which provides a prescriptive list of the types of occurrences that are required to be reported to the ATSB.
This increase may also reflect a better reporting culture.”
In Australian commercial air transport, the 3,864 aircraft invo…
