Media centre

Flying still very safe - Aviation safety authorities

Australia's two leading aviation safety bodies have rejected claims that flying is becoming less safe.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) say the latest aviation accident statistics show little change.

In 1998 there were 209 aviation accidents in Australia, compared to 229 in 1997. There were 204 aviation accidents in 1996, 216 in 1995 and 206 in 1994.

CASA and BASI say there has also been little change in the number of fatal aviation accidents over the same period.

Last year there were 23 fatal aviation accidents, compared to 17 in 1997. There were 23 fatal accidents in 1996, 22 in 1995 and 25 in 1994.

CASA's Director of Aviation Safety, Mick Toller, says it is plain nonsense to suggest there is a worsening trend in aviation safety.

"Some headlines today suggest the rate of aviation accidents is on the rise - that's simply not supported by the facts," Mr Toller says.

"Flying is still a very safe form of transport and there's no reason for the public to think otherwise.

"Of course, there are risks in any type of transport and aviation is no different. However, compared to driving on the road flying is an extremely safe way to travel."

BASI's Director, Dr Rob Lee, says there has never been a fatal accident involving a scheduled passenger jet aircraft in Australia.

"The last fatal accident involving a scheduled passenger aircraft goes back to 1993, which was the Monarch accident near Young in NSW," Dr Lee says.

"Although there have been some highly publicised accidents involving charter aircraft, for example Seaview in 1994, this accident rate is also relatively steady.

"Regular passenger transport operations have almost doubled over the past ten years, yet last year there were only two accidents in this category and no fatalities."

22 January 1999