MORE AVIATION MISHAPS BUT FEWER FATALITIES IN 2008

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) announced the number of fatalities from aviation accidents
dropped to 502 last year from 692 in 2007.

This resulted in a 56 percent improvement in the fatality rate from 0.23
per million passengers to 0.13 per million passengers, it said in a statement.

It said the global accident rate (measured in hull losses per million
flights of Western-built jet aircraft) stood at 0.81-or one accident for every
1.2 million flights.

This is a slight deterioration on 2007 performance when the accident rate
was 0.75-or one accident for every 1.3 million flights, it said.

There were 109 accidents in 2008 compared to 100 in 2007. The number of
fatal accidents increased from 20 in 2007 to 23 in 2008.

IATA member airlines significantly outperformed the industry in safety.

With 33 accidents, IATA members drove their accident rate downwards from
0.68 in 2007 to 0.52 in 2008, which is equivalent to one accident for every 1.9
million flights.

"Safety is the industry's number one priority. Today's statistics confirm
travelling by air is one the safest things that a person can do," said
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General and chief executive officer.

The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) is the global industry standard for
airline safety management.

As of Jan 1, IOSA is a condition of IATA membership.

IATA said currently 204 member airlines are among the 282 carriers on the
IOSA registry (www.iata.org/registry), while a further 21 IATA member airlines
are undergoing quality control checks.

Airlines that have not passed the quality control process by March 31
will have their memberships terminated, it said.

"IATA is a quality association. And the mark of that quality is safety.
While we will be strict in upholding IOSA standards, recognised by governments
worldwide, our goal is to raise the bar on safety, with a transparent global
standard and bring all of our members on board," said Bisignani.

On aviation accidents, IATA said three issues emerged in 2008.

Runway excursions accounted for 25 percent of accidents in 2008 while
ground damage was the cause for 17 percent of aviation mishaps last year.

"Our record on safety is impressive. But the accident in Buffalo last week
and all the 502 fatalities in air accidents in 2008 are human tragedies,
reminding airlines, regulators and industry partners everywhere that safety is a
constant challenge and we must always strive to do better.

"Our target is zero accidents and zero fatalities. Nothing less is an
acceptable result," added Bisignani.

-- BERNAMA