New aviation stats should ease any fears of flying

New figures confirm that 2017 was a good year for commercial aviation, continuing a downward trend in fatal accidents and improvements in airline safety. If you've ever been nervous about flying, or know someone with a deep-seated fear, these stats should help quell any unease. According to the latest report from the IATA, which represents 280 airlines and 83% of global air traffic, the all-accident rate per one million flights last year was 1.08, down from 1.68 in 2016, and 2.01 for the previous five-year period between (2012-2016). In other words, about 4.1b travellers flew safely on 41.8m flights in 2017. Among IATA member airlines, there were six fatal accidents that killed 19 passengers and crew. That compares with an average of nearly 11 fatal accidents, and 315 fatalities per year in the five-year period of 2012-2016. Furthermore, none of the fatal accidents in 2017 involved a passenger jet, but instead involved turboprop aircrafts and a cargo plane. The latest figures corroborate earlier reports released last month, which called 2017 the safest year for post-war civil aviation. <br/>