The ranking of the world's safest airlines was headed by Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways
The later a disaster occurs, the more weight it has in calculating the corresponding place in the ranking. In total, the compilers of the Safety Index take into account eight parameters. Passenger turnover, the number of fatalities in all incidents, and the number of completely lost or destroyed aircraft are considered. So-called serious incidents also play an important role – these refer to landings with engine failure, other breakdowns, and runway excursions.
An airline's position in the ranking improves with each full year without a single incident. The last parameter used by the index compilers is the rating of the country to which the airline belongs. This in turn is based on the transparency of the actions of regulatory bodies investigating aviation accidents.
In February, the next Safety Index 2016 was published. As a year earlier, it was headed by Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways (in the 2014 ranking it was in second place). The company's safety index (the lower, the better) is 0,006.
The only incident for the carrier in the last 30 years was a hard landing at Hong Kong airport in 2010. Then, due to poor quality fuel, the pilots of an Airbus A330 that had departed from Surabaya (Indonesia's second-largest city) were unable to fully control engine thrust. As a result, the airliner landed at high speed and sustained significant damage, but no passengers or crew members were injured.
In addition, in 1972, Cathay Pacific Airways lost a Convair 880 flying from Bangkok to Hong Kong – then a bomb hidden in a suitcase exploded on board the airliner. The death toll on the plane, which crashed near the Vietnamese city of Pleiku, was 81 people.
Furthermore, in 1948, a Cathay Pacific Airways seaplane was hijacked by terrorists. The attack is considered the first of its kind in the history of commercial aviation. Four criminals participated in the hijacking; shortly after takeoff, they killed the pilot. As a result, the plane crashed in the river delta of China's Guangdong province, killing 26 people. The only survivor was the leader of the terrorists.
Second place for the second consecutive year goes to Emirates (index 0,007). The Arab carrier has had only two serious incidents in its history. In 2004, an Airbus A340 overran the runway during takeoff at Johannesburg airport. No one was injured, but the plane knocked down 25 approach lights, resulting in four punctured tires and damage to the fuselage.
In 2009, another Airbus A340 struck several lights at the end of the runway in Melbourne. The plane took off, but the crew decided to return because the aircraft had sustained minor damage.
The top three (also for the second consecutive year) is rounded out by EVA Air (index 0,008), Taiwan's second-largest airline. Founded in 1989, it has not had a single serious incident in its history. A minor accident involving an Eva Air Boeing 747 occurred in 2012 in the USA: during taxiing, the pilots misjudged the trajectory and hit an American Eagle aircraft with its wing.
In May 2015, the carrier received an anonymous call reporting a bomb on board a Boeing 777 that was flying from Taiwan to Los Angeles. Immediately after landing, a thorough inspection of the aircraft was conducted, but no explosives were found. In January 2016, a flight from Los Angeles to Taiwan made an unscheduled landing in Sapporo: one passenger required emergency medical assistance.
The top ten also includes Qatar Airways (index 0,009), Hainan Airlines (0,010), KLM (0,010), Air New Zealand (0,011), Etihad Airways (0,013), Japan Airlines (0,015), and TAP Portugal (0,015).
The only Russian airline in the top 60 safest in the world is Aeroflot. Russia's main carrier ranks 36th (0,106). For comparison, Italian Alitalia has roughly the same rating (0,110), while French Air France (0,129) and American American Airlines (0,139) are behind Aeroflot.
Another authoritative research company, Skytrax, also compiles an airline safety ranking. The most famous product of the British company is its monthly on-time performance ranking of carriers.
The Quality Rating provides a comprehensive assessment, updated in real time. At Skytrax, they emphasize that they do not give safety assessments based on incident information, as they believe such an assessment is always subjective. It may not reflect the actual state of affairs, since often the carrier's representatives are not responsible for accidents.
When analyzing safety, Skytrax experts examine compliance with safety standards by airline employees, and also visit corporate courses where crews practice practical actions in emergency situations. Skytrax does not have a separate index, but safety is taken into account when compiling the Quality Rating.
In the Quality Rating itself, places are not ranked; instead, an airline is assigned a rating from one to five stars. Currently, the list of five-star carriers includes seven airlines: Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong), ANA All Nippon Airways (Japan), Asiana Airlines (South Korea), Garuda Indonesia (Indonesia), Hainan Airlines (China), Singapore Airlines (Singapore), and Qatar Airways (Qatar).
Based on materials from Lenta.ru