What are world’s safest and least safe aircrafts?

Four months on from the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy; the families of the victims are still reeling from the memories of their loved ones. 

All 149 passengers from 35 countries along with eight cabin crew on board were killed. United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres termed it a ‘global tragedy’.  

The tragedy occurred when the world was still in shock over the fatal Indonesian Lion Air crash, which took place just six months previously, killing all 189 passengers and 8 cabin crew on board. 

Both the airlines whose aircraft were involved in the crash operated US manufactured Boeing 737 MAX model aircraft.  

In this ultra-safe age of flying, this series of commercial plane crashes have instilled fear in air travelers.  

The aircraft casualty rates are rising alarmingly. According to Netherland based Aviation Safety Network’s record, 556 people died in 15 plane crashes in 2018 while 44 were killed in 10 crashes in 2017. 

To make air travel safer, Boeing experts in a report have tracked the safest and least safe planes based on fatality records from 1959-2017.  The aircraft models with zero fatality records are deemed as ‘safest’ while the aircraft with a large number of fatality records are deemed as ‘least safe’.

Some models of Airbus, Boeing, and Bombardier series have been marked as the ‘safest’ in the list. 

One of the bestselling European Airbus models - A 320/321/319neo - received the ‘safest’ recognition for their strong fuselage and long-haul flying ability with a zero fatality record. 

US-based Boeing is leading the commercial aviation scene globally for low consumption of fuel, curbing greenhouse gas emissions and for comfortable travel. 

Although The US manufactured Boeing 737 MAX was the fastest selling aircraft, it has been grounded following the Ethiopian Airlines crash tragedy and a series of problems in other flights. 

Boeing 717, 787, 747-800 and the Dreamliner 787 have been deemed as safest for their fatality free flight records. 

Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier’s - 700/900/1000 models - were collectively marketed as CRJ series for regional flights. It gained popularity for providing air travel at lower cost. Now with fatality free records, it has made its place in the ‘safest’ list.

However, the Anglo-French Concorde with 11.36 percent fatal crashes per million departures has appeared on top of the ‘least safe plane’ lists. The aircraft ended operations in 2003. 

Boeing 707/720 with 4.28 percent per million departures has been deemed as second ‘least safe planes’.  

The UK manufactured Comet and the US manufactured Boeing 737 MAX also lost their reliability after encountering a string of fatal crashes. 

Now, as the list has been revealed, commercial airline companies can check the safety issues of aircrafts before buying them for commercial operations. 
 

Boeing Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents Worldwide Operations: Safest to least safe aircraft models:

• A320/321/319neo - 0
• 717 - 0
• CRJ700/900/1000 - 0
• A380 - 0
• 787 - 0
• 747-800 - 0
• A350 - 0
• C Series - 0
• A340 - 0
• E170/175/190 - 0.06
• 737-600/700/800/900 - 0.08
• 767 - 0.1
• A320/321/319/318 - 0.1
• 777 - 0.18
• A330 - 0.19
• 757 - 0.2
• 737-300/400/500 - 0.25
• MD-80/90 - 0.32
• F100/F70 - 0.36
• L-1011 - 0.56
• A300-800 - 0.6
• A300 - 0.61
• BAe 146 & RJ70/85/100 - 0.69
• 727 - 0.73
• DC-9 - 0.78
• 737-100/200 - 0.89
• DC-10/MD-10 - 1.29
• BAC 1-11 - 1.38
• 747-100/200/300/SP - 1.46
• MD-11 - 1.79
• A310 - 1.9
• F28 - 2.31
• 737 MAX - 3.08
• DC-8 - 4
• 707/720 - 4.28
• Concorde - 11.36