India’s air safety record better than US: Civil aviation ministry

The US aviation regulator may have downgraded India citing lack of aviation safety oversight, but figures released by the civil aviation ministry indicate that the number of aviation accidents in India were far fewer than those in the US itself from 2009 to 2012.

The US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), may have downgraded India citing lack of aviation safety oversight, but figures released by the civil aviation ministry indicate that the number of aviation accidents in India were far fewer than those in the US itself from 2009 to 2012.

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In 2009, there was only one accident involving a scheduled commercial aircraft in India, while there were 26 accidents in the US. The accident rate per million flight departures for 2009 in India was 1.7%, while it was 2.7% in the US.

In 2010, only one accident involving a scheduled commercial aircraft was reported in India, while there were as many as 27 accidents in the US. The accident rate per million flight departures for 2010 in India was 1.6%, while it was 2.8% in the US.

In 2011, there were no accidents involving scheduled commercial aircraft in India, while there were 28 in the US. The accident rate per million flight departures for 2011 in India was zero, while it was 3.1% in the US.

In 2012, there were again no accidents involving scheduled commercial aircraft in India, while there were 24 in the US. The accident rate per million flight departures for 2012 in India was again zero.

FAA has downgraded India to Category II and joins the likes of Ghana, Curacao, Serbia and Bangladesh. The downgrade is likely to hurt the global perception of Indian aviation safety. It means that Indian carriers with flights to the US, cannot increase flights to the US nor have new code-shares with American carriers.