Editorial: Drama in the skies - should scary incidents change our flight path?

A series of high-profile plane dramas have not put people off flying.

EDITORIAL

A series of unnerving mid-air flight incidents has sparked traveller concern but not enough for most people to cancel their holiday plans.

The fiery flight out of Queenstown last week, where passengers onboard Australia-bound flight VA148 saw flames shooting out of an engine was particularly alarming.

It came just hours after news that another Queenstown-departing flight hit turbulence that spilled hot coffee over a passenger and injured a cabin crew member.

The incidents came hot on the heels of the Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 which hit “sudden extreme turbulence” over the Indian Ocean last month, plummeting 1800m in about three minutes. One British man died of a suspected heart attack while 41 passengers and crew were injured.

There was also the dramatic nosedive that injured 50 passengers on a Latam Airlines into Auckland in March which generated worldwide headlines.

But despite the alarming stretch of mishaps and events, most Kiwis appear unperturbed at getting on their next flight.

And they are right not to react knee-jerkingly and cancel travel plans.

The aviation industry is one of the safest in the world, by several measures.

As one commenter told The New York Times last week, it is more dangerous driving to the airport than getting on the plane.

“It’s the safest form of transportation ever designed by humankind,” said former pilot John Cox.

Last year, there was just one “accident” for every 1.26 million flights globally, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

With 37 million aircraft movements in 2023 (jet and turboprop), there were no “hull losses or fatal accidents involving passenger jet aircraft” last year. However, there was a fatal accident involving a turboprop aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines that crashed when a pilot reportedly accidentally pulled the wrong lever, resulting in 72 fatalities.

“2023 safety performance continues to demonstrate that flying is the safest mode of transport,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.

“Aviation places its highest priority on safety and that shows in the 2023 performance.”

Our national carrier Air New Zealand was also named by AirlineRatings.com, which bills itself as the world’s only safety and product rating website, as its safest airline for 2024, narrowly ahead of Qantas and Virgin Australia.

While high-profile recent airline incidents that make news headlines would be scary for those involved and no doubt give many pause for thought, flying is still incredibly safe, with the industry highly focused on safety.

So when a mid-air mishap occurs, it’s important to keep that in mind.