Is it still safe to fly with Boeing? Everything you need to know after a string of high-profile incidents
“Air safety 2023: Accidents and fatalities at record low” – that was the headline for the first article I wrote this year.
Only two fatal accidents had occurred during the previous 12 months. Both of them involved propeller aircraft on domestic flights. Each of the 86 deaths was a tragedy, but for comparison the same number of fatalities occurs in an average of 35 minutes on the world’s roads.
Two dramatic events early in the new year actually emphasised the extraordinary degree of safety built into modern jet aircraft. On 2 January an Airbus A350 landing at Tokyo Haneda airport burst into flames after striking a coastguard jet that had strayed onto the runway. While five aboard the smaller plane died, all 379 people aboard the Japan Airlines passenger jet successfully evacuated.
Three days later, an took off from Portland, Oregon on a routine flight. The plane, a Boeing 737 Max 9, climbed above 16,000 feet – higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. Suddenly, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, “the left mid exit door plug departed the airplane”.
