World's Most Dangerous Airline

Long story short: "The chances of passengers being in a fatal accident today on an African airline are about 25 times greater than on a U.S.-based airline," according to Andy Pasztor's article in today's Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The European Union (EU) earlier this year banned 92 airlines from entering European airspace "due to their failure to meet basic safety standards."

EU Transport Minister Jacques Barrot described those carriers as "flying coffins."

I like a little understatement on Fridays, myself — you?

Anyhow, choosing the worst of this frightening group is kind of silly: I mean, you're basically jumping with a parachute that may — or may not — open when you take your seat.

The Times of London listed the 92 in a March 22, 2006 article.

Note: It would probably be best not to simply print out the Times article to read on board your plane, especially if you're flying in Africa.

Here's the WSJ piece.

Air-Safety Groups Seek to Cut Crashes in Developing Regions

With airlines recording unprecedented low accident rates in North America and Western Europe, global aviation-safety groups are set to release a comprehensive plan to reduce commercial-jet crashes in developing regions.

Slated to be disclosed Monday by the International Civil Aviation Organization (), the safety roadmap seeks to help slash the hundreds of airliner fatalities each year in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia. It would combine existing efforts and improve coordination between government and industry initiatives. It also emphasizes regional solutions, establishes criteria to measure progress and aims to apply lessons learned from current successful programs.

Progress on safety remains "slower in some countries," so the latest effort is "a way to assure that we keep the confidence of the traveling public," Roberto Kobeh González, the head of ICAO, said last month.

Seeking to apply the most-effective safety techniques developed in the U.S. and Europe to other regions, the initiatives run the gamut from establishing reliable incident-reporting systems to installing advanced collision-warning devices in cockpits. Yet "due to the relative scarcity of financial and human resources" in developing countries, the document urges a "well-considered understanding of what safety benefits can be gained" over the long run from new technologies.

The plan doesn't spell out firm numerical targets and leaves the details of implementing it to regional groups. But more than ever, it holds out the prospect of a single safety standard regardless of where an airline is based.

The latest effort faces challenges, starting with ICAO's limited ability to force or persuade governments or national regulators to step up safety oversight. Lack of financial resources and trained personnel in many areas also could hamper progress. Calling public attention to safety shortcomings is the strongest tool available to the safety groups.

Historically, about three-quarters of all airline fatalities result from crashes in Africa and parts of Asia. According to Boeing Co., fatalities on its aircraft operating in Africa have averaged about 125 per year since the beginning of the decade. In some years, the toll has climbed closer to 400 victims. Other organizations that helped write the document are anticipating achieving a 25% reduction in African fatalities over the next few years.

"The first step to a solution is honestly realizing we have a big problem" in safety disparities between regions, according to Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association. For some African countries and airlines, "their safety record is an embarrassment for this industry," he told a conference in Chantilly, Va., in November.

The chances of passengers being in a fatal accident today on an African airline are 25 times greater than on a U.S.-based airline. They are roughly eight times greater on a Latin American airline. On a rolling five-year average, the global accident rate for commercial jets rose by about one-third in 2005 to 1.4 accidents per one million departures. And despite steady safety advances, the actual number of world-wide crash fatalities has stayed remarkably steady, averaging just under 520 a year.

The ambitious goals also must contend with an anticipated doubling of jetliners in use around the world by 2020, and potentially even steeper growth in global passenger traffic by then. Without significantly lower accident rates in developing regions, aviation officials worry a steady drumbeat of gruesome crashes could undermine passenger confidence everywhere.

Under preparation for 18 months with the help of pilot and airport groups, aircraft manufacturers, the independent Flight Safety Foundation and other experts, the report emphasizes "shared goals and methods," noting that many safety problems "are best addressed at the regional level."