Accidents are rare in aviation compared to other forms of transport. Flying is regarded as the safest means of transport. And while this is the case, it’s still not risk-free. Safety has to remain the highest priority and a core priority for every player in the industry.

The 193 countries cooperating through ICAO are working toward their agreed global safety target of zero fatalities by 2030. This requires a thorough analysis of trends, risks and patterns that can provide insights to governments and industry groups on strengthening safety standards, regulatory capacities, oversight, and risk mitigation.

This visual analysis report maps out the incidences & accidents happenings within the industry using data from the Aviation Safety Network.

Some insights to digest:

  • There were 170 occurrences captured in the year 2022. Occurrences include accidents and incidents.
  • Fatal accidents resulted in the loss of 298 passengers, both ground & inflight crew.
  • 151 operators were involved in either an accident or incident.
  • 42 per cent of accidents & incidents occurred at the Landing Phase of the flight.
  • 33.5 per cent of all occurrences took place in the U.S.A.
  • February 2022 recorded the highest number of accidents/incidents, at 27. This was at the height of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
  • Deadliest crash of 2022 was a Boeing 737-800 by China Eastern Airlines which crashed in a mountainous area of Wuzhou, China killing all 132 occupants.
  • Cessna Aircraft Company recorded the highest number of accidents at 36. Out of this, 11 were Cessna 208B Grand Caravan.

Below is the visual summary dashboard of the global aviation accidents in 2022. Here is a link to the interactive Viz: Global Aviation Accidents 2022

Below are some additional takeaways to note:

Region: Country

The U.S.A. accounted for approximately 33.5 per cent of the global aviation accidents/incidents in 2022. This was followed by Russia and Ukraine which recorded 5.3 per cent and 4.1 per cent consecutively. The bar graph below shows the breakdown of the top 10 countries with the most number of accidents/incidents.

Share of Occurrences by Country

Aircraft Type/Manufacturer

Cessna Aircraft Company recorded the highest number of accidents/incidents at 36, followed by Antonov, with 22, and then Boeing with 20. When it comes the specific aircraft types, Cessna dominates half of this list with its different types of aircraft, predominantly turboprops.

Total Accidents By Aircraft Type

Phase of Flight

42 per cent of accidents & incidents occurred at the Landing Phase of the flight, while 14 per cent took place at the Enroute stage of the flight and 11 per cent at the Takeoff stage. Some accidents/incidents had multiple causes.

Runway excursion (veer-off) and Runway excursion (overrun) are the most dominant cases in accidents/incidences.

While most accidents/incidents occur at the Landing Phase, the accidents that recorded fatalities occurred at the Enroute stage of the flight. 35 out of the 170 occurrences recorded a fatality; 16 of the 35 recorded fatal accidents were at the Enroute stage.

Total Fatalities By Phase of Flight

Fatalities

The most fatal accident was the China Eastern Airlines flight 5735, a Boeing 737-800 that crashed in a mountainous area 20 km southwest of Wuzhou, Tengxian County, China. The flight was a domestic passenger service to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport from Kunming Changshui International Airport. All the 132 occupants on board were killed.

Other fatal accidents worth noting were Tara Air flight 197, a domestic flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, Nepal which crashed mountainside killing all the 22 occupants; Precision Air flight 494, another domestic flight from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba Airport, Tanzania. The aircraft crashed on its final approach killing 19 on board.

Below is a table detailing accidents with 4 fatalities and above as recorded in 2022 by the Aviation Safety Network.


Cover Image Credits: The Sentinel