There are significant regional differences in the Western built jet hull loss accident rate: 

* North America (0.10), Europe (0.45), North Asia (0.34) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (0.0) performed better than the global average of 0.61

* Asia-Pacific was higher than the global average at 0.80 in 2010 and about the same from the previous year (0.86)

* The Middle East and North Africa region saw its accident rate fall significantly to 0.72 (compared to 3.32 in 2009) with only one accident involving a carrier from the region

* Latin America & the Caribbean reported a higher accident rate of 1.87 with four airlines from the region involved in accidents, compared with a zero accident rate in 2009

* Africa had an accident rate of 7.41, which was lower than the 2009 rate of 9.94. While showing improvement, Africa once again has the worst rate in the world.  There were four Western-built jet hull losses with African carriers in 2010. African carriers are 2% of global traffic, but 23% of global western-built jet hull losses. 

In 2010, the accident rate of IOSA carriers in Africa (for all aircraft types) was more than 50% better than non-IOSA airlines. Among IATA’s efforts in Africa, it established the IATA Program for Safe Operations in Africa (IPSOA). IPSOA ensured that flight data analysis tools are available to all IATA carriers in Africa, and as of the last quarter of 2010, all IATA carriers have this essential safety tool in place. IPSOA will provide IATA with the data needed to develop safety programs targeted at specific challenges in the region. 

“Flying must be equally safe in all parts of the world. An accident rate in Africa that is over 12 times the global average is not acceptable. Improvements can happen. IATA’s African carriers performed significantly better than non-IATA airlines in the region. I encourage all governments in the region to make use of the IOSA tool to boost the region’s performance,” said Bisignani. An analysis of the causes of the 2010 accidents focuses on several areas: 

Runway excursions, which are instances when an aircraft departs the runway during takeoff or landing, were once again the most common cause of accidents, accounting for 21% of all accidents in 2010 (vs. 26% in 2009).  The number of industry runway excursions accidents dropped by 13% (20 vs. 23 in 2009) and IATA members have reduced their runway excursion accidents by 43% since 2008 (4 vs. 7 in 2008). 

IATA analysis shows about 35% of runway excursions on landing occurred on wet runways.  Another leading cause of runway excursions on landing is an “unstable approach,” where the aircraft is approaching too fast, too high, or touches down beyond the desired runway touchdown point. IATA is working with industry and regulators to address this safety challenge. 

In 2009, IATA released the Runway Excursion Risk Reduction (RERR) toolkit which provides high-level reference material as well as an in-depth analysis of runway excursion accident data and a compilation of significant risk factors. The toolkit also provides recommendations for operators, pilots, airports, air traffic management, and regulators. A major update to the RERR toolkit is planned for the spring of 2011 and will bring together all major international safety organizations in a collaborative effort to eliminate these types of accidents. 

Ground damage accounted for 11% of all accidents in 2010, improved from 17% in 2008 when IATA launched the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) to address this challenge. ISAGO is the industry’s first global standard for the oversight and auditing of ground handling companies.

The program, containing over 400 standards, was launched in February 2008 and the first audits took place in May of the same year. To date, a total of 288 audits have been conducted and 56 providers operating at 81 different locations are already on the ISAGO registry. The program has gained broad support from several aviation authorities and airports and has been mandated in Lebanon and Turkey. 

Further improvements to the industry’s safety performance will be guided by data that can assist airlines in identifying trends and initiate preventive measures. IATA established the Global Safety Information Center (GSIC) in 2010.  This interactive website is a one-stop resource combining safety data from sources such as IOSA and ISAGO audits, flight data analysis, pilot reports and accident investigations without compromising commercial privacy. 

“Safety is a constant challenge. Industry and governments need to accelerate their efforts on data sharing.  In 2010, IATA launched GSIC providing its members with unprecedented access to safety information. More than 430 different organizations are already submitting safety data into the GSIC, and over 50% of IATA member carriers are participating. Substantial GSIC expansion is planned over the next few years and the industry will reap the benefits,” said Bisignani.