Airline accidents, deaths

rose in 1990s

The number of airline accidents and deaths rose in the 1990s but passengers were safer at the end of the decade than at the beginning, according to a report released last month. Flight International magazine said accidentsi ncreased by 28 per cent to 480 worldwide during the 1990s compared with the decade before.

Fatalities rose by 12.5 per cent to 11,950.

It said the average risk to passengers fell because the number of travellers increased by 32 per cent, the number of flights by 30 per cent and the average dis tance per journey by 12.5 per cent.

Flight International said there was a grad ual improvement in safety rates in the 1990s, meaning that passengers at the end of the decade were statistically safer thant hey were at the beginning.

“Many crucial safety programs are now coming to fruition,” said David Lear mount of Flight International. "If the industry delivers to its potential, the next 10 years promise much safer flights for the world’s air travellers.”

Reuters