2019 Among Safest Years in Aviation
Notwithstanding the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX in March, 2019 was among the safest years in commercial aviation history, the Aviation Safety Network (ASN) says.
The organization’s 2019 airliner accident data listed a total of 20 fatal accidents during the year with 283 associated fatalities.
The data indicate that 2019 was the seventh safest year ever in terms of the number of fatal accidents and the third safest year in terms of fatalities. The safest year, according to ASN data, was 2017, when there were 10 fatal airliner accidents with 44 fatalities.
The total of 20 fatal accidents recorded in 2019 represented an increase over the five-year average of 14 fatal accidents; the 283 fatalities, however, represented a decrease from the five-year average of 480 fatalities.
Of the 20 fatal accidents, 13 were passenger flights, including the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10; all 157 passengers and …
