The Causes of Aircraft Accidents

Why do Planes Crash; What are the Most Common Reasons?

Feb 17, 2009

Airplane accidents are very rare, although well-publicised when they do happen. This article looks at the statistics and the reasons for crashes when they do occur.

Despite the fact that there have been a few high profile aircraft accidents such as the recent New York A320 Airplane Ditching, traveling by plane is still much safer than practically any other means of transport. However, crashes do occur, so it is useful educational to look at the reasons why.

When do Most Plane Crashes Happen?

Approximately 80% of all aircraft accidents occur shortly before or during take-off and landing. These are usually said to have been caused by 'pilot error', although these days this is more often referred to as 'human error', to emphasise that pilots are simply human beings. Mid-flight disasters are rare, although not entirely unheard of.

They have occasionally been caused by bombs or other terrorist activity, such as the 1988 Lockerbie disaster. Mid-air collisions are unlikely, though they do occasionally happen. Structural failures are also extremely rare, but they have occurred.

Statistics of the Reasons for Aircraft Accidents

A survey of 1,843 plane crashes between 1950 and 2006 determined the causes of the accidents to be as follows:-

This study, and many previous ones, have always shown pilot and other human error to be significantly higher than all other causes added together. This is now an area on which a lot of research is done.

Aspects of aircraft design can play a part in accidents. Inadequate design can make pilot error more likely. For example, in early aircraft, many switches and levers which performed different functions looked very similar. These days it has been realized that this is not a good idea, and everything is done to make sure that pilots cannot mix up the various controls.

Contributions to Aviation Safety

Boeing and Airbus both place huge emphasis on aircraft safety equipment, which is now a billion dollar industry in its own right. Major safety devices now standard in modern aircraft include:

When measured by distance, air travel is actually the safest form or transportation there is. When compared on a fatality per mile basis it is six times safer than traveling by car and twice as safe as journeying by rail. So prospective airline passengers really should not worry too much about the perceived dangers.

The copyright of the article The Causes of Aircraft Accidents in Commercial Aviation is owned by Helen Krasner. Permission to republish The Causes of Aircraft Accidents in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.