Flying Fatalities Are Extremely Rare
Investigations into the cause of last week's deadly Air India plane crash are currently underway, with the cockpit voice recorder in the plane's second black box having now been recovered.
All but one of the 242 people aboard the Air India 171 flight bound for London-Gatwick on June 12 were killed soon after it took off from India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad. At least 29 people on the ground also perished as the plane crashed into the campus of a medical college. Trainee doctors and students who were there at the time rushed to save their colleagues.
Despite the heavy scrutiny Boeing has come under in the past year for the safety issues of its other planes, last week marked the first time a Boeing 787 has crashed in its 16-year history.
As Statista's Anna Fleck reports, according to data published by the World Bank and Our World in Data shows that while these disasters do happen, they are extremely rare and commercial aviation has become far safer over the decades.
In 2023, there were 0.03 fatalities per million passengers, or in other words, three deaths per 100 million.
According to this data, 2023 was the second safest year since records began, following only after 2017 when 0.01 deaths per million passengers were recorded.
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Daily Tribune
a day ago
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Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials
New Delhi's civil aviation regulator has ordered Air India to remove three officials from their roles over "systemic failures", according to a directive seen by AFP Saturday, as the carrier comes under scrutiny after a deadly crash. The instruction from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not detail whether it was linked to the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground were killed. The DGCA directive noted that the airline's voluntary disclosures "point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability". "Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses," said the order, which was issued on Friday. "These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses," it said. The regulator has directed Air India to remove three officials named in the order "from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling", take disciplinary action, and report on steps taken within 10 days. Future violations could also result in "licence suspension". The airline said on Saturday it had implemented the order. "Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices," it said in a statement. Investigators are attempting to find out what caused the airline's London-bound plane to hurtle to the ground moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad. Air India said on Thursday that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was "well-maintained" and that the pilots were accomplished flyers. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have been recovered from the crash site.
Gulf Insider
2 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Flying Fatalities Are Extremely Rare
Investigations into the cause of last week's deadly Air India plane crash are currently underway, with the cockpit voice recorder in the plane's second black box having now been recovered. All but one of the 242 people aboard the Air India 171 flight bound for London-Gatwick on June 12 were killed soon after it took off from India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad. At least 29 people on the ground also perished as the plane crashed into the campus of a medical college. Trainee doctors and students who were there at the time rushed to save their colleagues. Despite the heavy scrutiny Boeing has come under in the past year for the safety issues of its other planes, last week marked the first time a Boeing 787 has crashed in its 16-year history. As Statista's Anna Fleck reports, according to data published by the World Bank and Our World in Data shows that while these disasters do happen, they are extremely rare and commercial aviation has become far safer over the decades. In 2023, there were 0.03 fatalities per million passengers, or in other words, three deaths per 100 million. According to this data, 2023 was the second safest year since records began, following only after 2017 when 0.01 deaths per million passengers were recorded.
Daily Tribune
26-05-2025
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US, Boeing reach deal to resolve MAX criminal case
The Justice Department said Friday it reached a preliminary agreement with Boeing to settle a long-running criminal probe into deadly 737 MAX crashes, drawing condemnation from some crash victim families. Under an 'agreement in principle,' Boeing will pay $1.1 billion and the Department of Justice (DOJ) would dismiss a criminal charge against Boeing over its conduct in the certification of the MAX, DOJ said in a federal filing. A judge must approve the accord, which would scuttle a criminal trial scheduled for June in Fort Worth, Texas. The agreement would resolve the case without requiring Boeing to plead guilty to fraud in the certification of the MAX, which was involved in two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives. Family members of some MAX victims slammed the proposed settlement as a giveaway to Boeing. 'The message sent by this action to companies around the country is, don't worry about making your products safe for your customers,' said Javier de Luis in a statement released by attorneys for plaintiffs suing Boeing. 'This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in US history,' said Paul Cassell, an attorney representing relatives of victims. 'My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it.' But the DOJ, in its brief, cited other family members who expressed a desire for closure, quoting one who said 'the grief resurfaces every time this case is discussed in court or other forums.' Family members of more than 110 crash victims told the government 'they either support the Agreement specifically, support the Department's efforts to resolve the case pre-trial more generally or do not oppose the agreement,' the filing said. The DOJ filing called the accord 'a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest.' 'The Agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial,' it said. Friday's proposed agreement marks the latest development in a marathon case that came in the wake of the two crashes that tarnished Boeing's reputation and contributed to leadershipshakeups at the aviation giant. The case dates to a January 2021 DOJ agreement with Boeing that settled charges that the company knowingly defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration during the MAX certification. The 2021 accord included a three-year probation period. But in May 2024, the DOJ determined that Boeing had violated the 2021 accord following a number of subsequent safety lapses.
