Best and worst Air Transport Industries

[Jaybird180]

Just finished another DVR episode of Air Disasters. I watched the one about the loss of the 2011 Russian Hockey Team. The end of the show discussed major failures in the culture of Russian aviation, which got me wondering which countries are safest (and why) and which are riskiest (and why).

I'm hoping that we can answer this question using objective data or at least subjective anecdotal data without national pride or international politics and prejudices spiking the results.

 

[jordane93]

According to this, the United States from 145 to July 2014 has had 771 fatal civil airliners accidents. The most out of any country. Of course the data is skewed though.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/...r-accidents-since-1945-by-country-and-region/

 

[Old Geek]

Jordan's graph is worse than useless. While the United States was crashing airliners in the 40's and 50's, it was also learning how to build the safest airlines and airliners in the world.

 

[jordane93]

Jordan's graph is worse than useless. While the United States was crashing airliners in the 40's and 50's, it was also learning how to build the safest airlines and airliners in the world.

Yep. Which is why I said the graph is skewed.

 

[James331]

From flying all over the globe, per flight hour I'll say the US.

GA is obviously the US

Airlines, Alaska is a good one as is Virgin.

 

[warthog1984]

Risky cultures:

Aeroflot (MX)
Asiana/Korean Air (culture)
Most of the African national airlines (MX, seating, W&B)

 

[ateamer]

According to this, the United States from 145 to July 2014 has had 771 fatal civil airliners accidents. The most out of any country. Of course the data is skewed though.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/...r-accidents-since-1945-by-country-and-region/

I'd wager that the United States also flew dozens of times more flights than the other countries.

 

[hook_dupin]

I'd wager that the United States also flew dozens of times more flights than the other countries.

..which is why anyone who is serious in aviation safety uses rate data vice actual numbers. Accidents or fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours is the most common measure.

 

[petrolero]

I'd wager that the United States also flew dozens of times more flights than the other countries.

Exactly. 84% of statistics are complete horse****.

But said another way, it's hard to crash an airliner when a country's main mode of transport is a class 3 twin donkey cart.

Who does the best job of safety depends on your tolerance for cost. There is no such thing as absolute safety and every decision is a risk vs cost balance (that includes political costs too). To very poor people in poor countries, sacrificing a little "safety" might seem a fair trade off in exchange for the mobility and economic opportunity that cheap aviation brings. It is all about risk vs cost and incentives vs constraints.

In other words, economics.

But drop a relatively rich American into that same poor country and the cost vs risk equation seems totally screwed up. The American would perceive way more risk than benefit.

So the richest countries naturally do the best job of keeping airliners from crashing on a per passenger mile basis because their populations demand and can afford it. But they also cost a lot more to fly. Same concept with automobiles and every other thing that rich countries have tried to make safer.