2012 named safest year in civil aviation history

Moscow, Dec 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The air accident rate was at a record low this year, making 2012 the safest year in civil aviation history, a media report said.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 240 airlines comprising 84 percent of global air traffic, said none of its members reported the crash of a modern Western-built aircraft, the Guardian reported.

According to the organisation’s statistics, the global rate for all aircraft in service was one crash per 470,000 flights.

“Statistically, a passenger could travel for 14,000 years without being in a crash,” the Guardian wrote.

However, at least two major accidents involving planes from non-member airlines and resulting in the massive loss of life took place in 2012.

A total of 127 people were killed in April when a Boeing 737 plane owned by Bhoja Airline crashed in Pakistan. In June, a Dana Air plane crashed in Nigeria, killing more than 150 people.

—IANS/RIA Novosti

snb

IANS 2012-12-14 02:56:07