Flying got safer last year almost everywhere except Russia
Flying further improved its safety record last year, extending a long-term trend that’s set to to continue despite quality lapses at Boeing Co. and maintenance setbacks in Russia, where sanctions have put decades of progress at risk. There were 124 fatalities worldwide aboard passenger jets in 2023, the fewest in any year other than 2017, based on data compiled by Jacdec, a German consulting firm that tracks aviation safety. Hull losses, where aircraft are damaged beyond repair, totaled 45, a 12% improvement from 2022. One exception was Russia, where US and European Union sanctions have made it hard for airlines to acquire parts needed to maintain aircraft. The number of air-safety incidents there more than doubled to 81 in 2023 from 2022, according to Jacdec. In one instance, an Airbus A320 flown by Ural Airlines was left for dismantling in a Siberian field after an issue with hydraulics forced an emergency landing. A separate Air India flight to San Francisco stranded passengers in Russia’s Far East for two days after engine issues forced it to divert. Yet even in Russia, which has endured sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, fatalities have been well below the norms of earlier years. The economic curbs block Russian operators from gaining access to spare parts and technical updates for planes including those made by Boeing and Airbus. “So far, we don’t see any translation into an uptick of fatal accidents in Russian civil aviation,” said Jacdec founder and CEO Jan-Arwed Richter. “A tech embargo does not result in major crashes overnight, but a slow degradation of operational reliability.” The one deadly Russian crash logged by Jacdec in 2023 likely involved an onboard blast, killing mutinous mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin in late August alongside nine others traveling in the private jet. Moscow lodged a complaint over the sanctions to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency, saying they endanger air safety. In the meantime, Russian aviation officials have turned to “friendly” sources for spare parts in places like Dubai. Outside of Russia, air safety remains an urgent concern after incidents in Japan and the US this year. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-02-21/general/flying-got-safer-last-year-almost-everywhere-except-russia
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Flying got safer last year almost everywhere except Russia
Flying further improved its safety record last year, extending a long-term trend that’s set to to continue despite quality lapses at Boeing Co. and maintenance setbacks in Russia, where sanctions have put decades of progress at risk. There were 124 fatalities worldwide aboard passenger jets in 2023, the fewest in any year other than 2017, based on data compiled by Jacdec, a German consulting firm that tracks aviation safety. Hull losses, where aircraft are damaged beyond repair, totaled 45, a 12% improvement from 2022. One exception was Russia, where US and European Union sanctions have made it hard for airlines to acquire parts needed to maintain aircraft. The number of air-safety incidents there more than doubled to 81 in 2023 from 2022, according to Jacdec. In one instance, an Airbus A320 flown by Ural Airlines was left for dismantling in a Siberian field after an issue with hydraulics forced an emergency landing. A separate Air India flight to San Francisco stranded passengers in Russia’s Far East for two days after engine issues forced it to divert. Yet even in Russia, which has endured sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, fatalities have been well below the norms of earlier years. The economic curbs block Russian operators from gaining access to spare parts and technical updates for planes including those made by Boeing and Airbus. “So far, we don’t see any translation into an uptick of fatal accidents in Russian civil aviation,” said Jacdec founder and CEO Jan-Arwed Richter. “A tech embargo does not result in major crashes overnight, but a slow degradation of operational reliability.” The one deadly Russian crash logged by Jacdec in 2023 likely involved an onboard blast, killing mutinous mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin in late August alongside nine others traveling in the private jet. Moscow lodged a complaint over the sanctions to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency, saying they endanger air safety. In the meantime, Russian aviation officials have turned to “friendly” sources for spare parts in places like Dubai. Outside of Russia, air safety remains an urgent concern after incidents in Japan and the US this year. <br/>
