Flysikkerhet generelt - B737 spesielt - Curt Lewis

How Safe Is Your Airline? The United States and the European Union evaluate the aviation safety standards of countries and their airlines. Here's where to find that information before you book. Rescuers search for victims of a Lion Air passenger jet that crashed in the waters of Ujung Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. CreditCreditAchmad Ibrahim/Associated Press Before Lion Air Flight 610 crashed near Jakarta this week, apparently killing all 189 passengers and crew onboard, the Indonesian airline had been banned from flying in European Union air space between 2007 and 2016. It and all Indonesian carriers had been banned from United States air space for nine years until 2016. Aviation authorities in both the United States and the European Union based their evaluations on national standards of safety for Indonesian carriers compared to international standards. And both bodies said the country had cleared those hurdles. Governing bodies in the United States and the European Union publish their evaluations of airlines, often by country, and provide resources for fliers when determining if their carrier is on a safety blacklist. Here's where to find those resources before you book. Does the carrier meet United States safety standards? The Federal Aviation Administration runs the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program, or I.A.S.A., which ensures that the country where a foreign carrier is based complies with safety standards established by the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (I.C.A.O.). I.A.S.A. evaluates countries based on eight criteria, including their aviation laws, operating regulations, civil aviation system and safety oversight functions, personnel qualification and training, and how safety concerns are resolved. The results, which are updated regularly, are published by country based on a rating of 1, or "meets I.C.A.O. standards," or 2, does not meet those standards. Those countries failing the standards are Bangladesh, Curaçao, Ghana, Sint Maarten and Thailand. To check the status of a country, go to www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/iasa/media/IASAWS.xlsx, which lists the ratings by country. The F.A.A. does not rate airlines individually. Carriers from category 2 countries that operate in the United States or code-share with American carriers - which means the airlines match up their schedules, apply their own flight numbers and sell each other's flights - are limited to operations that existed at the time of the evaluation, but cannot expand operations in United States airspace. Thai Airways is a member of the Star Alliance, a code-share group that includes United Airlines, but does not fly in the United States. Those with category 2 rankings that seek to start service in the United States or establish code shares with American carriers are banned from doing so. What about European rules? The European Union's Air Safety List approves or bans airlines from flying in E.U. airspace. As at the F.A.A., criteria for the list follow safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, including personnel licensing procedures, aircraft operations, air navigation services, accident investigations and the aviation laws of a country. Lion Air was cleared from the European Union's blacklist in 20016, and all other Indonesian carriers previously on ithe list were cleared in June after it was determined that safety standards countrywide had been improved. Worried fliers can check the 2018 update of the list at ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban_en, which includes airlines that are banned from E.U. skies; among them are 114 airlines from 15 countries, including Afghanistan, Eritrea and Nepal. According to the website, airlines on the list show "lack of safety oversight by the aviation authorities from these states." Another six individual airlines are banned based on safety concerns with those specific carriers, as opposed to the standards established by their home countries. They include Iran Aseman Airlines; Iraqi Airways in Iraq; Blue Wing Airlines in Suriname; Med-View Airlines in Nigeria; Avior Airlines in Venezuela; and Air Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. While the cause of the Lion Air accident remains under investigation, statistics show that flying generally is a safe way to travel. The airline trade association International Air Transport Association, which represents 290 member airlines, or 82 percent of all air traffic, reported an accident rate of 1.08 per 1 million flights in 2017. "Worldwide, air travel is incredibly safe," said Gary Leff, who writes the aviation blog View from the Wing. "The things that go wrong are such outliers," he said, because things generally do not go wrong. Does anyone put all the information together? The commercial website Airlineratings.com publishes safety ratings for more than 435 carriers worldwide. The site uses a seven-star system for rating airlines based on whether they have passed an operational safety audit with the International Air Transport Association; if they are allowed to fly in the European Union; if they are free of fatalities in the past 10 years, and whether they have passed the I.C.A.O. country audit. After the crash, Lion Air currently holds a six-star rating from the group. Air France has the same level of clearance; the website notes a 2009 fatality. All three legacy carriers based in the United States - American, Delta and United - have seven-star ratings.

 

The Boeing 737 is still one of the safest aircraft ever Nervous flyers shouldn't be put off by the recent Indonesian plane crash. Credits: Video - Boeing Image - Getty The tragic crash of a brand new Boeing 737-800 off the coast of Jakarta this week has triggered a number of stories in the media that cast doubt on the safety of the Boeing 737. Headlines like "aircraft model at centre of Indonesia plane tragedy bound for our skies" could add unnecessary stress to travellers who are nervous about flying. But in reality, the odds of a 737 flight resulting in a death are higher than 3.1 million to one. Yes, the same type of aircraft involved in the incident does fly into and out of New Zealand, and has done for decades, but travellers shouldn't be alarmed. The newer 737-800's have been purchased by Qantas, Fiji Airways and Virgin Australia, as well as industry giants American Airlines, Qatar, Ryanair and United Airlines. Aviation expert Neil Hansford told the Sydney Morning Herald said there is no reason to be concerned about the overall safety of the aircraft "The 737 is the most produced aircraft in aviation history; there is more of them flying than any other aircraft in the world, they are incredibly well made," Mr Hansford said. Boeing 737 facts: There are more than 2000 Boeing 737s in the air at any one time, every single day A 737 takes off somewhere in the world every two seconds More than 16.8 billion passengers have travelled on a 737 since 1967 As of 2014, Boeing 737s had flown more than 184 million flights Only 60 of those 184 million flights resulted in a fatality, which is just 0.000032 percent The aircraft that crashed in Indonesia had only been flying since early August. It's been reported that it experienced a technical issue on its previous flight which had been attended to by maintenance staff. There's no doubt the aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the airlines that fly 737s will be watching developments closely - but the statistics strongly suggest there's little cause for concern. The Boeing 737 is a great aircraft - 16.8 billion people can't be wrong.

 

Indonesia Crash Calls Time on Safest Period in Modern Aviation Search and rescue team members look at debris recovered from the crash site on Oct. 29. Photographer: Rony Zakaria/Bloomberg The loss of a Boeing Co. 737 Max jet that plunged into the sea off Indonesia underscores the close of one of the safest periods for western-built airliners since the dawn of aviation. Monday's crash of a Lion Air plane carrying 189 people was the fourth deadly incident since April involving a 737. Before then neither Boeing nor Airbus SE had lost an aircraft since an EgyptAir A320 came down in the Mediterranean in May 2016, killing 66, a gap of close to two years. Last year was the safest on record, with no passenger fatalities involving jets and only five customers dying in crashes of planes with 14 seats or more, according to consultancy Ascend FlightGlobal. Early 2018 heralded a turn for the worse, when 170 people were killed over a 4 1/2-week period in three incidents involving turboprop models and a Russian-built Antonov An-148 jet. April's death on a Southwest Airlines 737 in which a passenger was partially sucked out of the plane after an engine exploded marked the first fatal incident involving a western jet since the Egyptair crash. It was followed by the loss of 112 people when a 39-year-old 737 came down down while departing Havana in May. There was also a single fatality as a 737 operated by Air Niugini landed in a lagoon in the Pacific island group of Micronesia on Sept. 28. Ascend FlightGlobal's Airline Safety & Losses review proclaimed after 2017 that "the age of zero accidents is here, more or less." Following the tragedy in Indonesia, the organization is modifying that prognosis. "Last year was far better than the long-term safety trend would suggest and this year is certainly worse," said Paul Hayes, Ascend's safety director. Because fatal crashes are now so rare, just one or two can have a major statistical impact, according to Hayes, who says he now evaluates data against nine-year moving averages that show the industry is "a world away" even from the 1990s, when some years produced half a dozen crashes involving household-name carriers from Europe and the U.S.