Global air transport safety improved substantially in 2022 compared to 2021. According to statistics reported annually by IATA (International Air Transport Association), five accidents resulting in passenger and/or crew fatalities occurred in 2022, out of a total of 32.2 million flights operated. This is a significant improvement over 2021 (seven fatal accidents) and the previous four-year average (2018-2022), which was also seven fatal accidents. 

A total of 39 aircraft accidents recorded in 2022

The fatal accidents in 2022 involved four turboprops and one jet and resulted in 158 deaths. In 2021, seven fatal accidents had involved a jet and six turboprops. Including accidents that did not necessarily result in fatalities, 2022 had a total of 39 accidents, compared to 29 in 2021. This increase is due to the fact that statistically there were far fewer aircraft in flight in 2021 due to the global air travel crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The "accident rate" is 1.21 for global air carriers (1 accident every 830,000 flights) and 0.49 for IATA members (1 accident every 1.6 million flights). Recall that IATA has a total of 300 members, representing 83% of all global air transport. 

The two most fatal accidents: China Eastern Yunnan Airlines and Precision Air 

Despite the reduction in the number of accidents, the number of casualties rose from 121 in 2021 to 158 in 2022. The majority of the casualties in 2022 are related to an accident in China on March 21, 2022, that killed 132 people. The plane belonged to China Eastern Yunnan Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern. Although China Eastern Yunnan Airlines is on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) register, it is not an IATA member. The accident involving an IATA member airline with the highest number of fatalities in 2022 was the crash that occurred on November 6, 2022 in Tanzania. An ATR 42-500 operated by Precision Air crashed into Lake Victoria during a landing in poor visibility and weather, killing 19 of the 43 passengers on board.

IOSA Certification Reliability

The "fatality risk" in 2022 was 0.11, compared with 0.22 in 2021. This index means that, on average, a passenger would have to fly every day for 25,214 years to experience a fatal accident. This rate is an improvement over the previous four years (one flight every day for 22,116 years). Finally, IATA recalls that its IOSA certification covers a total of 409 operators, including 107 non-IATA carriers. The total accident rate of IOSA-certified airlines is four times better than that of non-IOSA-certified airlines (0.70 versus 2.82). From 2018 to 2022, the accident rate for IOSA airlines is more than twice as good as that of non-certified airlines (0.88, versus 2.19).