Commercial Airplanes

Statistical
Summary of
Commercial Jet
Airplane Accidents
Worldwide Operations
1959 – 2000

1959 2000
1
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Definitions ................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Terms and Exclusions ................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Airplane Accidents, Year 2000 List ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Excluded Accidents .................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Departures, Flight Hours, and Jet Airplanes in Service ............................................................................................................. 10
Accident Summary by Type of Operation ................................................................................................................................. 11
Accident Summary by Damage and Injury ................................................................................................................................ 12
Accident Rates and Fatalities by Year ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Accident Rates by Years Following Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 14
U.S.A. and Canadian Operators Accident Rates ...................................................................................................................... 15
Accident Rates by Type of Operation ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Accident Rates by Airplane Type .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Accident Categories by Airplane Generation ............................................................................................................................ 18
Fatalities by Accident Categories .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Accidents and Onboard Fatalities by Phase of Flight ................................................................................................................ 20
Accidents by Primary Cause .................................................................................................................................................... 21

Published by:

Airplane Safety
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
P.O. Box 3707 M/S 67-TC
Seattle, Washington 98124-2207, U.S.A.
(425) 237-5746
E-mail: [email protected]
www.boeing.com/news/techissues
June 2001

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Introduction

The accident statistics presented in this document apply to worldwide commercial jet airplanes that are heavier than 60,000 pounds
maximum gross weight with the following exceptions:
• Airplanes manufactured in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (former Soviet Union) are excluded because of the lack
of operational data.
• Commercial airplanes in military service are excluded.

The following airplane types are included:

717 DC-8 A300 BAe 146 F-28 Concorde L-1011 BAC 1-11 Comet 4
707, 720 DC-9 A300-600 RJ-70/-85/-100 F-70 Trident
727 DC-10 A310 F-100 Caravelle
737 MD-11 A320, A319, A321 Mercure
747 MD-80/-90 A330 CV-880/-990
757 A340 VC-10
767
777

Airplane flight time and departures are primarily obtained from airplane and engine manufacturer compilations. Flight operations data
for non-Boeing manufactured airplanes are augmented by the AirCraft Analytical System (ACAS) electronic database that is published
by AvSoft, Limited, of Rugby, England.

Accident data are obtained, when available, from government accident reports. Otherwise, information is solicited from operators,
manufacturers, various government and private information services, and press accounts. Definitions related to development of
statistics in this book are primarily based on corresponding International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) terms as explained in the
next section. Some variations to the ICAO definitions are applied to facilitate the purposes of this document.

3
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Definitions

Events in this publication are classified according to the following definitions. These definitions are consistent with those
of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Airplane accident: An occurrence associated with the operation of an airplane that takes place between the time any person boards
the airplane with the intention of flight and such time as all such persons have disembarked, in which:
• Airplane sustains substantial damage.
• Death or serious injury results from:
– Being in or upon the airplane.
– Direct contact with the airplane or anything attached thereto.
– Direct exposure to jet blast.

Hull loss: Airplane damage that is substantial and is beyond economic repair. Hull loss also includes events in which:
• Airplane is missing.
• Search for the wreckage has been terminated without it being located.
• Airplane is substantially damaged and inaccessible.

Substantial damage: Damage or structural failure that adversely affects the structural strength, performance, or flight characteristics
of the airplane and would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component. Substantial damage is not
considered to be:
• Engine failure or damage limited to an engine if only one engine fails or is damaged.
• Bent aerodynamic fairings.
• Dents in the skin.
• Damage to landing gear.
• Damage to wheels.
• Damage to tires.
• Damage to flaps.

Fatal accident: An accident that results in fatal injury.

Fatal injury: An injury that results in death within 30 days as a result of the accident.

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Definitions (continued)

Serious injury: An injury sustained in the accident that:

• Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours that begins within 7 days of the date of injury.
• Results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose).
• Produces lacerations that result in severe hemorrhage or nerve, muscle, or tendon damage.
• Involves injury to any internal organ.
• Involves second or third degree burns over 5 percent or more of the body.
• Involves verified exposure to infectious substance or injurious radiation.

Generation: Airplane types are classified by generation groups in order of introduction to service as follows:

First Second Early Widebody Current

707, 720 727 747-100/-200/-300/SP MD-80/-90

DC-8 BAC 1-11 DC-10 767
Comet 4 DC-9 L-1011 757
CV-880/-990 737-100/-200 A300 BAe 146
Caravelle F-28 A310
Mercure Trident A300-600
VC-10 737-300/-400/-500
A320, A319, A321
F-100
F-70
747-400
MD-11
A340
A330
777
737-600/-700/-800
717
RJ-70/-85/-100

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Terms and Exclusions

Regional identification: Events are identified by operators’ national domicile and not by event location.

Airplane collisions: Events involving two or more airplanes are counted as separate events for each airplane. For example, total
destruction of two airplanes in a collision is considered two separate hull loss accidents.

Accident Rates: In general, this expression is a measure of accidents per million departures. Departures (or flight cycles) are used
as the basis for computing rates, since there is a stronger statistical correlation between accidents and departures than there is
between accidents and flight hours, or between accidents and the number of airplanes in service, or between accidents and passen-
ger miles. Airplane departures data are continually updated and revised as new information and estimating processes become
available. These form the baseline for the measure of accident rates and, as a consequence, rates may vary between editions of this
publication.

Excluded accidents:

• Fatal and nonfatal injuries from natural causes.

• Fatal and nonfatal self-inflicted injuries

.
• Fatal and nonfatal injuries of stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew.

• Experimental test flight accidents. (Maintenance test flights, ferry, positioning, training and demonstration flights are included.)

• Nonfatal injuries resulting from atmospheric turbulence, maneuvering, loose objects, boarding, disembarking, evacuation, and
maintenance and servicing.

• Nonfatal injuries to persons not onboard the airplane.

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Airplane Accidents
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 2000
Date Airline Airplane Type Accident location Hull Fatalities Phase Description
loss
30-Jan-00 Kenya Airways A310 Abidjan, Ivory Coast X 169 Climb Crashed into ocean
31 Jan-00 Alaska Airlines MD-80-83 Port Hueneme, CA, USA X 88 Descent Crashed into ocean
03-Feb-00 TransArabian Air Transport 707-300 Mwanza, Tanzania X Final Approach Crashed short into lake
11-Feb-00 Air Afrique A300-B4 Dakar, Senegal X Taxi MLG collapse, engine damage, fire
12-Feb-00 Transafrik 727-100 Luanda, Angola X Landing Wing struck ground
16-Feb-00 Emery Worldwide DC-8-61 Sacramento, CA, USA X 3 Initial Climb Crashed after cargo shifted aft
22-Feb-00 Egyptair 767-300 Harare, Zimbabwe Landing Hard landing engine separation
26-Feb-00 Iran Air 747-200BPC Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Taxi Airplane hit tow tug
27-Feb-00 Transbrasil 737-400 Porto Alegre, Brazil Landing Veered off in heavy rain
01-Mar-00 South African Airways A320 Lusaka, Zambia Landing Veered off runway
05-Mar-00 Southwest Airlines 737-300 Burbank, CA, USA X Landing Skidded off end of runway
19-Mar-00 Aero Continente 727-100 Tacna, Peru Landing Partial gear up landing
01-Apr-00 Continental Micronesia 727-200 Yap, Caroline Island Landing Departed Runway, MLG collapsed
19-Apr-00 Air Philippines 737-200 Davao, Philippines X 131 Final Approach Crashed into hill 7 miles short
22-Apr-00 Turkish Airlines RJ-70 Siirt, Turkey X Landing Landing overrun
22-Apr-00 QANTAS 747-300 Rome, Italy Taxi MLG collapsed. Outer cylinder fractured
30-Apr-00 DAS Air Cargo DC-10-30 Entebbe, Uganda X Landing Landing overrun
25-May-00 Air Liberte MD-80-83 Paris, France 1 Takeoff Runway collision with Shorts 330
07-Jun-00 Varig Airlines 767-200 Sao Paulo, Brazil Takeoff RTO - engine fire
26-Jun-00 Yemenia 737-200C Khartoum, Sudan X Landing Skidded off runway - weather
12-Jul-00 Hapag Lloyd A310 Vienna, Austria X Landing Fuel exhaustion, landed short
17-Jul-00 Alliance Air 737-200 Patna, India X 52 Final Approach Crash 2 km short of runway
25-Jul-00 Air France Concorde Paris, France X 113 Initial Climb Crashed after takeoff
08-Aug-00 Airtran Airlines DC-9-32 Greensboro, NC, USA Climb Bulkhead electrical fire
23-Aug-00 Gulfair A320 Manama, Bahrain X 143 Final Approach Crashed into sea
21-Sep-00 Republic of Togo 707-300B Niamey, Niger X Initial Approach Destroyed by fire after landing
06-Oct-00 Aeromexico DC-9-31 Reynosa, Mexico X 92 Landing Landing overrun
31-Oct-00 Singapore Airlines 747-400 Taipei, Taiwan X 85 Takeoff Takeoff on closed runway
05-Nov-00 Camaroon Airlines 747-200 Paris, France X Landing Ran off runway
13-Nov-00 Ghana Airways DC-9-51 Conakry, Guinea X Landing Gear up landing
20-Nov-00 American Airlines A300-600 Miami, FL, USA 1 Landing F/A fell from door
24-Nov-00 Airtran Airlines DC-9-32 Atlanta, GA, USA Climb Fire in forward cargo compartment
30-Nov-00 Futura International Airways 737-800 Shannon, Ireland Landing Hard landing - NLG
23-Dec-00 Hawaiian Air DC-10-10 Papeete, Tahiti Landing Landing overrun into water
34 Total Accidents 20 878

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Excluded Accidents
Accidents Occurring in 2000

Turbulence:
• Flight attendant injury – 15 events
• Passenger injury – 8 events

Pushback:
• Aircraft pushed into other aircraft – 3 events
• Aircraft pushed into jetway - 3 events

Hit by vehicle:
• Ground collision with tug - 1 event
• Ground collision with cargo container loader – 1 event
• Service truck struck aircraft – 2 events

Boarding:
• Passenger jumped out of door before arrival at gate - 1 event
• Evacuation slide injury - 2 events

Ground crew:
• Ground crew wedged between vehicle and airplane – 1 injury
• Catering lift hand injury - 1 event
• Jet blast damage - 2 events

Cabin operation:
• Cart overturned - coffee spill - 1 event

Note: These events are excluded from the statistical analysis in the remainder of the document and may not be a complete
listing due to incomplete reporting.

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Excluded Accidents
Accidents Occurring From 1991 through 2000

Number of accidents

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Turbulence 119

Pushback 42

Servicing injury 31

Aircraft struck by vehicle 30

Emergency evacuation injury 23

Boarding 9

Cabin operations 7

Military operated commercial jets 7

Note: Sabotage, hijacking, terrorism, or military action events are not considered accidents and are not listed in this table.

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Departures, Flight Hours, and Jet Airplanes in Service*
Worldwide Operations 1965 to 2000

40
35.14 • 378.6 million cumulative departures
35
Flight Hours
(316.9 million on Boeing airplanes)
Annual departures and

30 Departures
flight hours (millions)

25 • 610.5 million cumulative flight-hours

20
(520.1 million on Boeing airplanes)
18.14
15 • 7 manufacturers – 33 significant
10 types (13 Boeing) in service as of
12/31/2000
5

0
66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 '00

14,949 (11,327 Boeing)

15000

12000
Number of airplanes

9000
* Certified jet airplanes greater than
60,000 pounds maximum gross
6000
weight, including those in temporary
nonflying status and those in use
3000 by non-airline operators. Excluded
are military airplanes and CIS-
manufactured airplanes.
0
66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 '00

10
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Summary by Type of Operation
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

All accidents Hull loss and/or Onboard

Type of operation fatal accidents fatalities
1959-2000 1991-2000 1959-2000 1991-2000 1959-2000 1991-2000

Passenger 1,015 302 564 171 23,995 6,981

Cargo 159 74 111 54 212 63
Ferry, test, training, and demonstration 102 15 60 10 189 34
Totals 1,276 391 735 235 24,396 7,078

U.S.A. and Canadian operators 434 90 213 47 5,819 1,131

Rest of the world 842 301 522 188 18,577 5,947
Totals 1,276 391 735 235 24,396 7,078

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Summary by Damage and Injury
All Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1959 Through 2000

1,276 accidents worldwide

89 personal injury accidents with
less than substantial damage
(56 fatal) 89
(56)

661 hull loss accidents

661 (413 hull losses with fatalities)
526 (413 fatal)
(18 fatal)
526 substantial damage accidents
(18 substantial damage with fatalities)

Excludes:
• Fatal injuries from natural causes or suicide.
• Experimental test flights.
• Military airplanes.
• Sabotage, hijacking, terrorism, or military action.
• Nonfatal injuries involving:
• Atmospheric turbulence, maneuvering, or loose objects.
• Boarding, disembarking, or evacuation.
• Maintenance and servicing.
• Persons not on board the airplane.

12
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Rates and Fatalities by Year
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1959 Through 2000

80 1500

All accidents
70 Onboard fatalities
1200
60

Hull loss and/or

Accident 50 fatal accidents
rate 900
(accidents Fatalities
per million 40
departures)
600
30

20
300

10

0 0
1959 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 '00
Year

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Rates by Years Following Introduction
Hull Loss and/or Fatal Accidents – Worldwide Commercial Fleet – 1959 Through 2000
50

First generation
Second generation
Early widebody
40 Current generation

30
Accident
rate
(accidents
per million
departures)
20

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42
Years since introduction

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
U.S.A. and Canadian Operators Accident Rates
Hull Loss and/or Fatal Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1959 Through 2000

30

U.S.A. and Canadian operators

25 Rest of the world

Accident 20
rate
(accidents
per million
departures)
15

10

0
1959 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00
Year

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Rates by Type of Operation
Hull Loss and/or Fatal Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1991 Through 2000

5.82
6
10-year
accident 4
rate
(accidents
2
per million
departures) 0.71
0
Schedule passenger operations All other operations*
135.7 million departures 23.9 million departures

*Unscheduled passenger and charter, cargo, ferry, test, training, and demonstration.

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Rates by Airplane Type
Hull Loss Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1959 Through 2000
Hull losses

Not Flying** 82 14.39

707, 720 118 8.73
DC-8 72 5.83
727 73 1.00
737-1/-2 66 1.28
DC-9 77 1.28
BAC 1-11 22 2.61
F-28 32 3.73
747-Early 22 1.93
DC-10 21 2.47
A300-Early 8 1.45
L-1011 4 0.75
Concorde 1 12.05*
MD-80, -90 11 0.42
767 3 0.35
757 4 0.39
BAe 146 3 0.68
A310 6 1.95
A300-600 3 1.16
737-3/-4/-5 14 0.39
A320, 319, 321 7 0.68
F-100 3 0.54
747-400 3 1.19
MD-11 5 5.21*
RJ-70, -85, -100 1 0.87
A340 0 0.0*
A330 0 0.0*
777 0 0.0*
737NG 0 0.0
717 0 0.0*
Total Hull Losses 661 1.75
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Hull Loss Accident Rate Per Million Departures

** The Comet, CV-880/-990, Caravelle, Mercure, Trident & VC-10 are no longer in commercial service, and are combined in the “Not Flying” bar.
* These types have accumulated fewer than 1 million departures.
17
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accident Categories by Airplane Generation
All Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Operations — 1991 Through 2000

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R i d e ke

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ew

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ro of air c

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O tan

Tu in
Fu ght ne

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Generation on ss d

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Total

ff

Ic
E G

W
In

G
First 5 8 2 6 3 2 3 8 1 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 50

Second 17 10 1 4 16 21 14 9 10 1 3 1 1 6 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 132

Early widebody 3 2 1 1 1 4 3 5 1 4 1 1 3 3 1 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 2 52

Current 11 17 1 24 13 35 3 13 1 1 1 2 3 9 2 6 1 3 1 2 2 2 4 157

Total 36 37 2 8 1 50 40 56 16 35 2 5 3 3 13 8 11 3 11 11 5 4 2 7 8 6 8 391

Generation 10-Year Accident Rate

First Comet 4, 707, 720, DC-8, CV-880/-990, Caravelle

First 25.5
Second 727, Trident, VC-10, BAC 1-11, DC-9, 737-100/-200, F-28
Early widebody 747-100/-200/-300/SP, DC-10, L-1011, A300 Second 2.7
Current MD-80/-90, 767, 757, A310, BAe 146, A300-600, 737-300/-400/-500,
F-100, A320, A319, A321, 747-400, MD-11, RJ-70/-85/-100, A340,
A330, 777, 737NG, 717 Early widebody 4.8

*Miscellaneous Accidents
Current 1.8
Coffee maker explosion Jet blast Tailstrike/RTO
Hail Damage Pilot incapacitated Taxied across ditch 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Instrument Error Accidents per million departures

18
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Fatalities by Accident Categories
Fatal Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1991 Through 2000

2500 349 274

Total fatalities = 7,282 (7,071 onboard)
2,359 2,237
2000 fatalities = 886 (onboard)

2000

1500
Fatalities

1000
169
651
600
506
500 92
296
230
1 1
140 110 91 37 11 9 3 2
0
Loss of CFIT* In-flight Midair Landing Fuel Takeoff Ice/ Wind- Runway Misc. Fuel RTO** Turbulence Un-
control fire collision tank config- snow shear incursion fatality exhaus- known
in flight explosion uration tion
Number
of fatal 33 27 3 2 15 1 3 3 2 3 6 3 1 2 8
accidents
112 Total * CFIT Controlled flight into terrain
Note: Accidents involving multiple non-onboard fatalities are included. ** RTO Refused takeoff
Accidents involving single, non-onboard fatalities are excluded.

19
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accidents and Onboard Fatalities by Phase of Flight
Hull Loss and/or Fatal Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1991 through 2000

Percentage of accidents/fatalities
17% 51%
Taxi,
load, Initial Climb Initial Final
parked Takeoff climb (flaps up) Cruise Descent approach approach Landing

Accidents 6% 13% 4% 10% 5% 5% 6% 8% 43%

Fatalities 0 8% 8% 26% 5% 15% 14% 18% 5%

16% 23%
Exposure = percentage of flight time
based on flight duration of 1.5 hours
Initial Final
approach approach
fix fix
1% 1% 14% 57% 11% 12% 3% 1%

Distribution of accidents and fatalities

120 1,855 2000
101
100
1500
80 1,246

Fatalities
Hull 1,094
loss 1,023
60 1000
and/or
659
fatal 40 31 534 587
accidents 23 380 350 500
298 18
20 15 10 12 12 13
2
0 0
Taxi, load, Takeoff Initial Climb Cruise Descent Initial Final Landing
parked climb approach approach

Hull loss and/or fatal accidents Fatalities

20
2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Accidents by Primary Cause*
Hull Loss Accidents — Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1991 Through 2000

0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Flight crew 96 66%

Airplane 19 13%

Weather 12 8%

Maintenance 7 5%

Misc./Other 7 5%

Airport/ATC 5 3%

Total with 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
known causes 146

Unknown or
awaiting reports 65
*As determined by the investigative authority.
Total 211

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001
Commercial Airplanes
P.O. Box 3707
Seattle, WA 98124-2207

Printed in U.S.A.

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2000 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, JUNE 2001