Worldwide commercial jet aviation resulted in fewer accidents in 2010 than in 2009, according to data released by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.1,2 That was the best news in the year-over-year comparisons. However, on-board fatalities jumped from 413 in 2009 to 555 in 2010. The number of runway excursions — veer-offs and overruns — increased by one, and runway excursions as a percentage of all accidents were higher.
A total of 40 accidents occurred in 2010. That represented a 35 percent decrease from 62 the previous year and a 25 percent decrease from 53 in 2008. Eleven accidents were classified as “major” in 2010, compared with 13 in 2009.3
Nine of the 2010 accidents were fatal, including one that occurred while the aircraft was stopped on the runway; a passenger later died from injuries sustained during the evacuation.
Six of the eight in-flight fatal accidents in 2010 occurred during the approach and landing phases of flight, compared with four of eigh…
