The number of fatal airline accidents rose considerably in 2011 compared with the previous year, but despite this the year still emerged as the “safest year ever”, according to a new report.
Flightglobal’s Annual Airline Safety Review revealed that the number of fatal airline accidents climbed to 32 in 2011 from 26 in the previous year, above the annual average of 31 for the last decade.
But the majority of the accidents failed to make headlines, the report revealed. This was largely due to the small size of most of the aircraft involved, often turboprops used regionally by local operators that were not widely known.
Meanwhile, the smaller size of the aircraft contributed to a lower fatality rate. The number of fatalities for the year remained low at 514, well below the annual average of 751 for the last decade. The average number of casualties per fatal accident in 2011 was 16.
Flightglobal data and consultancy division Ascend explained that the rate had improved from about one fatal accident per 1.3 million flights overall in 2010, to one per 1.52 million flights last year.
“On this basis, 2011 was the safest year ever, just beating 2009 when the fatal accident rate was one per 1.51 million flights,” it said.
