Montreal – Flight safety issues were the topic of public debate several times last year. Incidents with Ryanair and other airlines raised the question whether flight safety being challenged in favour of commercial motives. But there is no reason to be afraid to fly, according to figures published by trade organisation IATA: 2012 was the safest in aviation history. Last year was unprecedented in aviation history in that there have never been so few accidents involving Western-built jets. Only one in five million flights was involved in an accident in 2012, which is a decline in the accident ratio compared to the year before. Of course, some accidents still occurred, but they were few and far between, as these numbers show. A few incidents that occurred with airlines not associated with the IATA weren't included in these numbers.After media reports about Ryanair's fuel policy, pilots falling asleep at the wheel and other incidents, flying's reputation as being safe were damaged. Technical errors are also to blame for most delays and cancellations, and this may also play a role in the general public's wariness. However, the simple fact is that 100,000 flights were safely operated each day last year.But there was also bad news, specifically for those flying out of Africa: the number of accidents rose dramatically there compared to the year before. The worldwide accident ratio was 0.20, while the ratio in Africa was 12.44. In other words: flying in Africa is 60 times riskier than it is throughout the rest of the world.

Last year, 414 people died due to plane crashes. Most accidents occur during take-off and landing, and hardly ever during the actual flight itself.Written by: Team Flight-Delayed

2012 safest year in aviation history according to IATA