The mystery surrounding missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has raised many questions about what could cause a passenger plane in mid-flight to apparently disappear without trace, but experts and recent statistics testify that flying has been getting safer over the years.
The number of fatalities involving scheduled international flights fell from 372 in 2012 to 173 last year, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
In Asia the number fell to about 50 in 2013, compared to 161 in the previous year.
There were three major accidents involving Asian carriers last year, which resulted in a total of 24 fatalities, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
“The number of major accidents remains extremely low with just seven losses from more than 30mn commercial flights (by Asian carriers) worldwide” in 2013, says Andrew Herdman, director general of the AAPA.
The ICAO recorded 414 fatalities worldwide in 2011, and over 500 in each of the previous six years. In 2005, 824 people died in plane accidents.
The missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is a Boeing 777. The only fatalities involved with the aircraft occurred last year when an Asiana Airlines flight from South Korea crashed on approach to San Francisco, killing three people. The tragedy was attributed to pilot error.
Experts point to the Asiana crash as an example of how better technology is saving lives in modern plane travel. In the past everybody’s seat would have disconnected so they would have been stacked together and that’s how you would get a lot of fatalities, according to them. But now if you’re in an economy seat it can take up to 16 Gs (g-force), so it can take these immense forces.
Surprise unlikely in Crimea vote
Tomorrow, up to 1.8mn people in Crimea can choose if the Black Sea peninsula should remain an autonomous republic inside Ukraine or if it should “reunite” with Russia. The so-called all-Crimean referendum is being called historic both in Russia and the West, but for very different reasons.
Both the Crimean and Russian leadership speak of the culmination of the Ukrainian peninsula’s long-standing aspirations to join Russia, while Western governments and international organisations have denounced the vote as illegal and unfair.
Whatever the truth may be, the vote is unlikely to yield surprising results.
A survey published by the local sevastopolnews.info news site earlier this week claimed that between 80 and 90% of respondents said they would vote for unification with Russia. The survey was conducted by an Institute of European Political Research, an obscure organisation with no website, but its results closely match statements of Crimea’s pro-Russian leaders.