Aviation Safety Performance Reports and Statistics

Aviation Safety Performance Reports and Statistics

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Latest Published Statistical Summaries
Sep, 2021

Boeing STATSUM 1959-2020, published in 2021

Jan, 2021

Statistical Analysis of Commercial Aviation Accidents 1958-2020 - Airbus

Jan, 2020

EASA Annual Safety Review: 2020

Jan, 2020

ICAO 2020 Safety Report

Oct, 2019

Aviation Risk 2020 - Allianz

Description

Because of the volume and variable integrity of global aviation safety data, analysis of safety data usually involves establishing a taxonomy for the data set. Therefore, any interpretation of these analyses needs to be mindful of the taxonomy used. Comparison of similar analyses based on different taxonomies can sometimes be deceptive. For example, statistics provided by Boeing include accidents involving only Western Built commercial jets over 60,000 lb MTOW. Such statistics therefore include most large commercial jets but do not necessarily provide an insight into the safety performance of the wider aviation system. All of this means that when looking at statistics, it is important to know the taxonomies used.

Performance Reports and Statistical Taxonomies

ICAO defines an accident as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked in which:

  • A person is fatally or seriously injured
  • The aircraft sustains damage or structural failure
  • The aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible

Note: The following are not considered accidents: experimental test flights, sabotage, hijacking, terrorism, or direct military action

There are several ways to classify an accident. These include classification by the level of damage incurred, by the extent of injuries caused, or by the cost of the damage to the aircraft. See the separate article on Accident Classification for the various classification taxonomies.

Other Taxonomy Elements used in Statistical Reports

Geographical Regions

  • ICAO Regions are the most often used regional definition. The assignment of region to an accident may be the based on the location of the occurrence or on the state of the Operator as defined by their AOC.
  • There is a particular difficulty with the 'definition' of Europe which may include, amongst other options ECAC, EU, EASA Member States or JAA. Political and regulatory evolution in Europe means that these definitions have varied over time.

Aircraft Classification

  • For fixed wing aircraft, the main distinction employed is between jets and turboprops

Aircraft Weight

  • For both jets and turboprops, 5,700 kg / 12,500 lbs (ICAO mass group 3) is commonly used as a lower limit for inclusion in statistical databases.

Domicile of Aircraft Design

  • Western/Eastern-built Aircraft - some statistics make this distinction or exclude the latter altogether because data for many operations of Eastern-built aircraft (those designed in CIS countries or in the Peoples Republic of China) have historically been unavailable or unreliable.

Sources of Statistical Information

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