Statistical Summary of

Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents

Worldwide Operations | 1959 – 2019
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Table of Contents
Statistical Summary 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2019 Airplane Accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Accident Summary by Injury and Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Departures, Flight Hours, and Jet Airplanes in Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Accident Summary by Type of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
US and Canadian Operator Accident Rates by Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Accident Rates and Onboard Fatalities by Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Accident Rates by Airplane Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
CAST/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team Aviation Occurrence Categories . . . . . . . 14
Fatalities by CICTT Aviation Occurrence Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Fatal Accidents and Fatalities by Phase of Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
About this Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Boeing Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Exclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Referenced ICAO and NTSB Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

2
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Since Boeing published its first Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane
Accidents in 1969, the world has changed. Air travel has changed. Technology has
changed how we design, build and service airplanes.

Yet our commitment to a data-driven approach to ensure the safety of our products
remains constant. We continue to strengthen that commitment every day by making
progress to establish an enterprise Safety Management System (SMS) in which
every Boeing employee plays a role. The primary goal of this SMS is to reduce risk
through a disciplined and data-driven decision-making process. By proactively
using data to inform how we design, build and service our products, we are in a
better position to address potential hazards and perform predictive analysis to avoid
possible future issues. It is through this combination of practices and our people that
we will continue to shape the aerospace industry – always with our sights set on
safety.

Our work is both highly technical and deeply personal. With each accident and near-
miss, we examine and learn from every detail to further improve safety and quality
because all who rely on our products and services deserve our best. Data is the key
to unlocking these opportunities for continuous improvement; it helps us understand
risks and identify where changes are needed.

We will never forget the 346 lives lost in the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines
Flight 302 accidents. We honor them by holding close the hard lessons learned from
this chapter in our history. As we reflect on all of the accidents included in this report,
we will always remember that people – the crews, passengers and those who create
and maintain jet airplanes – are at the heart of what we do.

Beth Pasztor Elisabeth Martin

Vice President and General Manager, Vice President, Enterprise Safety and Mission Assurance
Product & Services Safety Product & Services Safety

3
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Statistical Summary 2019

This document has been published every year since 1969. It tells the story of commercial aviation dating back to the launch
of the jet age in 1959. The data and Boeing’s analyses in the following pages underline the vast improvements that have been
made in the first six decades of commercial flight, and call out those areas where we must continue to make improvements.
Thanks in part to documents like this and the thinking that drives them, commercial aviation has evolved into one of the safest
forms of travel ever devised.

4
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

2019 Airplane Accidents | Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

Model Onboard Fatalities /

Event Type of Accident Phase Damage Hull Injury Major
Airline (Age in Event Description Occupants
Date Operation Location of Flight Category Loss Category Accident
Years) (External Fatalities)

Frontier A320 Denver, United During pushback the airplane sustained substantial damage. No injuries were
8-Jan-19 Sched Pax Tow Substantial
Airlines (6) States reported.

707-300 After landing, the aircraft overran the end of the runway. Damage resulted in a hull 15/16
14-Jan-19 Saha Airlines Charter Cargo Fath, Iran Landing Destroyed X Fatal X
(43) loss and multiple fatalities. (0)

Kinshasa,
While landing, the left hand wheel was punctured and the left hand main landing
737-300 Democratic
21-Jan-19 Serve Air Sched Cargo Landing gear collapsed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. No injuries were Substantial
(30) Republic of the
reported.
Congo

727-200 Tuscaloosa, The aircraft landed with the nose landing gear retracted. The aircraft sustained
28-Jan-19 Kalitta Air Sched Pax Landing Substantial
(42) United States substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

United 787-8
3-Feb-19 Sched Pax Chengdu, China Cruise A flight attendant fell while exiting the crew bunk, resulting in serious injury. None Serious
Airlines (5)

A321 Billund, While landing in crosswind conditions the aircraft bounced and made a hard
8-Feb-19 Novair Sched Pax Landing Substantial
(2) Denmark landing. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

737-800 Pontianak, After landing, the aircraft experienced runway excursion. The aircraft sustained
16-Feb-19 Lion Air Sched Pax Landing Minor
(1) Indonesia minor damage and there were 2 minor injuries.

767-300 Houston, Final 3/3

23-Feb-19 Atlas Air Charter Cargo The aircraft impacted the water in poor weather conditions. There were 3 fatalities. Destroyed X Fatal X
(27) United States Approach (0)

ERJ 195 Exeter, United Just prior to takeoff smoke filled the cabin and the aircraft was evacuated. One
28-Feb-19 Flybe Sched Pax Takeoff None Serious
(11) Kingdom passenger sustained a broken ankle.

A320 Rio de Janeiro, After touchdown the aircraft lost control and crossed the lateral limits to the right of
3-Mar-19 Oceanair Sched Pax Landing Substantial
(3) Brazil the runway. The aircraft suffered substantial. No injuries were reported.

Ethiopian 737 MAX 8 Addis Abbaba, During initial climb the aircraft experienced loss of control and impacted the ground. 157/157
10-Mar-19 Sched Pax Climb Destroyed X Fatal X
Airlines (0.3) Ethiopia There were 157 fatalities. (0)

Fokker F-100 The aircraft landed with the main landing gear in the up position. Substantial
19-Mar-19 Iran Air Sched Pax Tehran, Iran Landing Substantial
(28) damage was sustained. No injuries were reported.

Southwest 737-700 Nashville, United Final During final approach the aircraft suffered a bird strike. The aircraft sustained
27-Mar-19 Sched Pax Substantial
Airlines (13) States Approach substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

A320 Belfast, United During pushback, the towbar broke, the aircraft rolled forward and struck the tug.
3-Apr-19 EasyJet Sched Pax Tow Substantial
(7) Kingdom The aircraft sustained substantial damage. There were no injuries reported.

5
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

2019 Airplane Accidents | Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet (cont.)

Model Onboard Fatalities /

Event Type of Accident Phase Damage Hull Injury Major
Airline (Age in Event Description Occupants
Date Operation Location of Flight Category Loss Category Accident
Years) (External Fatalities)

American A321 New York, The aircraft struck a runway marker during takeoff causing substantial damage to
10-Apr-19 Sched Pax Takeoff Substantial
Airlines (5) United States the left hand wing. No injuries were reported.

Myanmar
ERJ 190 Mandalay, The aircraft landed with the nose landing gear retracted. The aircraft sustained
12-May-19 National Sched Pax Landing Minor
(10) Myanmar minor damage. No injuries were reported.
Airlines

United 737-900 Denver, United The aircraft experienced a tail strike on landing resulted in substantial damage.
9-Jun-19 Sched Pax Landing Substantial
Airlines (10) States There were no injuries reported.

United 757-200 Newark, United The aircraft experienced a hard landing and veered off to the left of the runway. The
15-Jun-19 Sched Pax Landing Substantial X
Airlines (22) States aircraft sustained substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

Southwest 737-800 Pittsburgh, While parked the aircraft was struck by a catering vehicle. The aircraft sustained
17-Jun-19 Sched Pax Parked Substantial
Airlines (6) United States substantial damage and the driver sustained minor injury.

737-800 The aircraft landed and overran the end of the runway. The aircraft sustained
1-Jul-19 Spicejet Sched Pax Mumbai, India Landing Substantial
(17) substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

737-300 The aircraft experienced nose gear failure upon landing. The aircraft sustained
23-Jul-19 Air Peace Sched Pax Lagos, Nigeria Landing Substantial
(21) substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

National Jet Bae 146-RJ85 During engine start-up, the aircraft rolled forward and struck a light pole resulting in
30-Jul-19 Sched Pax Perth, Australia Taxi Substantial
Express (26) substantial damage.

A319 Frankfurt, The aircraft was struck by a staircase being towed by another vehicle. The aircraft
30-Jul-19 Lufthansa Sched Pax Parked Substantial
(12) Germany sustained substantial damage. Three minor injuries were reported.

Boliviana de 737-300 The aircraft experienced a main landing gear malfunction during landing. The aircraft
3-Aug-19 Sched Pax La Paz, Bolivia Landing Substantial
Aviacion (22) sustained substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

Frontier A321 Orlando, United The aircraft experienced a tail strike on landing resulted in substantial damage.
8-Aug-19 Sched Pax Landing Substantial
Airlines (2) States There were no injuries reported.

The aircraft experienced bird strikes and engine failure shortly after takeoff and
A321 Zhukovsky,
15-Aug-19 Ural Airlines Sched Pax Initial Climb forced to land in a field. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. There were ten Destroyed X Serious X
(15) Russia
injuries reported.

Delta Air 757-200 Ponta Delgada, The aircraft experienced a hard landing. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
18-Aug-19 Sched Pax Landing Substantial
Lines (23) Portugal No injuries were reported.

6
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

2019 Airplane Accidents | Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet (cont.)

Model Onboard Fatalities /

Event Type of Accident Phase Damage Hull Injury Major
Airline (Age in Event Description Occupants
Date Operation Location of Flight Category Loss Category Accident
Years) (External Fatalities)

A330 While parked at the gate the aircraft caught fire. The aircraft sustained substantial
27-Aug-19 Air China Sched Pax Beijing, China Parked Destroyed X X
(5) damage. No injuries were reported.

The aircraft experienced a sharp deceleration during descent. One passenger

787-8 Barcelona,
3-Nov-19 Avianca Sched Pax Descent and one flight attendant sustained serious injuries. No damage to the aircraft was None Serious
(1) Spain
reported.

Turkish 737-800 The aircraft experienced a runway excursion and nose landing gear collapse. The
21-Nov-19 Sched Pax Odessa, Ukraine Landing Substantial
Airlines (11) aircraft sustained substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

737-400 Bogota, The aircraft experienced a right hand landing gear collapse while landing. The
22-Nov-19 Avior Airlines Sched Pax Landing Substantial X
(30) Colombia aircraft sustained substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

737-800 Nuremberg, A passenger fell from stairs. No damage to the aircraft was reported. One serious
23-Nov-19 Ryanair Sched Pax Parked None Serious
(12) Germany injury was reported.

United 737-900 Chicago, United The aircraft made an abrupt stop during taxi. Flight Attendant sustained severe
19-Dec-19 Sched Pax Taxi None Serious
Airlines (6) States injury. No damage to the aircraft was reported.

United 737-800 Denver, United The aircraft experienced a left main gear collapse during landing roll. The aircraft
22-Dec-19 Sched Pax Landing Substantial
Airlines (11) States sustained substantial damage. No injuries were reported.

F-100 Almaty, Lost height shortly after takeoff and impacted building. Damage resulted in a hull 12/101
27-Dec-19 Bek Air Sched Pax Initial Climb Destroyed X Fatal X
(24) Kazakhstan loss and 12 fatalities and 47 reported injuries. (0)

Total 187 Onboard

35 8 6
Accidents (0 External)

7
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Accident 1959 – 2009

Summary by
Injury and 1,129 Non-fatal accidents
414 with hull loss

Damage 658
57
with substantial hull damage
without substantial hull damage

Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

1959 through 2019
591 Fatal accidents
Historically, hull losses have been
479 with hull loss
associated with high fatality rates.
25 with substantial hull damage
That trend is reversing. Despite dramatic
87 without substantial hull damage
increases in air travel and air traffic,
the number of fatalities that occur with
hull losses has fallen by half over the
past eight years. This downward trend in
the correlation between hull losses and 2010 – 2019
fatalities is due, in part, to improvements
made to hull design and cabin equipment
over the past 20 years.
301 Non-fatal accidents
92 with hull loss
187 with substantial hull damage
22 without substantial hull damage

46 Fatal accidents
37 with hull loss
The terms “hull damage” and “hull loss” refer to the severity 2 with substantial hull damage
of damage an airplane incurs from an accident.
7 without substantial hull damage
In this data, “fatal accident” refers to any onboard fatality,
including deaths resulting from non-accident-related medical
emergencies.

8
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Departures, Departure and Flight Hours (millions) Flight hours Departures

Flight Hours, 71.9 million

flight hours

and Jet Airplanes 1,595 million flight

hours logged since
1959. 68% of total

in Service* hours logged were

on Boeing flights.

Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

1999 through 2019 31.5 million
departures
Over the past 20 years, the gap has grown 834 million
between total number of departures and departures since
total flight hours (top chart). Today, average 1959. 67% of those
departures were on
flight time is 2.3 hours compared to 1.9
Boeing airplanes.
hours in 1998. Modern airplanes are
designed for the heavier workloads, which
is good news for the industry: Worldwide
commercial air traffic is rising steadily
(bottom chart), and is projected to double
by 2035. Commercial Airplanes in Service (thousands) Worldwide Fleet Boeing Fleet
Worldwide Fleet Boeing Fleet

35

29,469

52%
30 29,469
of commercial airplanes total airplanes
flying today were made
by Boeing. 25

20

15 14,456
14,456
Boeing airplanes
Source: Jet Information Services, Inc.
* Certified jet airplanes greater than 60,000 pounds maximum 10
gross weight, including those in temporary nonflying status and
those in use by non-airline operators. Excluded are commercial
airplanes operated in military service and CIS- or USSR-
manufactured airplanes.

9
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Accident Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

Summary by Type of Operation All Accidents Fatal Accidents Onboard Fatalities

(External Fatalities)*
Hull-Loss Accidents

Type of 1959–2019 2010–2019 1959–2019 2010–2019 1959–2019 2010–2019 1959–2019 2010–2019

Passenger 1,651 290 509 35 30,024 2,191 755 96

Operation (804) (27)

- Scheduled 1,528 279 462 33 25,827 2,108 684 92

Worldwide Fleet
60- and 10-Year Totals - Charter 123 11 47 2 4,197 83 71 4

Despite the exponential increase in air

Cargo 292 50 83 10 285 30 192 30
travel over the past 60 years, the total (385) (56)
number of airplane accidents in the
Maintenance test, 123 6 44 0 208 0 75 3
last ten years is flat or just slightly up
ferry, positioning, (66) (0)
compared to the past 60 years. This is training, and
true across all categories and regions demonstration
except in the U.S. and Canada, where
Totals 2,066 346 636 45 30,517 2,221 1,022 129
the number of accidents in the past (1,255) (83)
decade has actually decreased by 33
percent compared to the 60-year totals.
The trend is amplified in another vital U.S. / Canada vs. Rest of World
metric—fatal accidents—which are down
Type of Operation All Accidents Fatal Accidents Onboard Fatalities Hull-Loss Accidents
74 percent in the U.S. and Canada over
(External Fatalities)*
the past ten years.
1959–2019 2010–2019 1959–2019 2010–2019 1959–2019 2010–2019 1959–2019 2010–2019

U.S. and Canadian 604 64 184 6 6,206 27 238 19

operators (381) (0)

Rest of World 1,462 282 452 39 24,311 2,194 784 110

(874) (83)

Totals 2,066 346 636 45 30,517 2,221 1,022 129

(1,255) (83)

* External fatalities include on-ground fatalities as well as fatalities on other aircraft involved.
10
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

U.S. and Annual Fatal Accident Rates 1959 through 2019

(per million departures)
Rest of the world
U.S. & Canadian operators

Canadian
Operator
Accident Rates
by Year
Fatal Accidents | Worldwide Commercial
Jet
Fleet 2000 through 2019
In the first decade of the jet age, two
key metrics—accident rates and fatality
rates—saw dramatic improvements.
Since then, metrics appear to taper off.
That’s not the case. Fatalities are still
declining worldwide—a testament to the
industry’s relentless focus on safety.

11
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Accident Rates Accident Rates and Onboard Fatalities per One Million Departures

and Onboard
Fatalities by Year
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet
1959 through 2019
It took 30 years for the commercial
aviation industry to achieve its first 200
million flights. Yet it took only 13 years
to reach the second 200 million, and 10
years to reach the next 200 million.
The most recent 200 million flights will
be reached after a mere eight years.
Despite this exponential growth in air
traffic, the accident rate has been
reduced by half over the past 18 years.

Accident Rates and Onboard Fatalities per 200 Million Departures

Total worldwide departures (millions)

Accidents
Viewing accident rates against departures is a meaningful way to measure advances All accidents
in aviation safety. Over the past 60 years, hull losses and onboard fatalities have Hull-loss accidents
declined dramatically while the number of airplanes in the air continues to rise. Fatal accidents
Total worldwide departures (M)
12
 STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Accident Rates by Airplane Type

Hull Loss Accidents | Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet | 1959 - 2019

Hull loss accident rate per million departures

13
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

CAST/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team Aviation

Occurrence Categories
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Commercial The CICTT Aviation Occurrence Taxonomy is designed to permit an
Aviation Safety Team (CAST), which includes government officials and assignment of multiple categories as necessary to describe the accident
aviation industry leaders, have jointly chartered the CAST/ICAO Common or incident. Since 2001, the Safety Indicator Steering Group (SISG)
Taxonomy Team (CICTT). CICTT includes experts from several air carriers; has met annually to assign CICTT occurrence categories to the prior
aircraft manufacturers; engine manufacturers; pilot associations; regulatory year’s accidents.
authorities; transportation safety boards; ICAO; and members from Canada,
In a separate activity, the CAST assigned each fatal accident to a single
the European Union, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom,
principal category. Those accident assignments and a brief description
and the United States. CICTT is co-chaired by one representative each from
of the categories are reported in the following chart.
ICAO and CAST.
The CAST use of principal categories has been instrumental in focusing
The team is charged with developing common taxonomies and definitions
industry and government efforts and resources on accident prevention.
for aviation accident and incident reporting systems. Common taxonomies
Charts using principal categories are used by CAST to identify changes
and definitions establish a standard industry language, thereby improving
to historical risk and to help to determine if the safety enhancements put
the quality of information and communication. With this common language,
in place are effective.
the aviation community’s capacity to focus on common safety issues is
greatly enhanced. For a complete description of the categories,
go to www.intlaviationstandards.org.

14
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Fatalities by CICTT Aviation Occurrence Categories

Fatal Accidents | Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet | 2010 through 2019

Note: Principal categories as assigned by CAST.

For a complete description of CAST/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team (CICTT) Aviation Occurrence Categories, go to www.intlaviationstandards.org.

15
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Fatal Accidents Percentage of fatal accidents and onboard fatalities | 2010 through 2019

and Fatalities by Taxi, load/

unload,
parked,
12%

Initial Climb Initial Final

53%

Phase of Flight
tow Takeoff climb (flaps up) Cruise Descent approach approach Landing

Fatal accidents 7% 4% 7% 13% 11% 2% 2% 29% 24%

Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet Onboard fatalities 0% 5% 1% 20% 23% 3% 7% 30% 11%

2010 through 2019

6% 41%

Cruising at altitude is the safest phase of a

flight. Around 7 percent of aviation fatalities Exposure
occur before an airplane leaves the ground, (percentage Initial Final
of flight time approach approach
while 12 percent occur during takeoff and estimated for a fix fix
1.5-hour flight) 1% 1% 14% 57% 11% 12% 3% 1%
initial climb. Over half of all fatalities occur
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100% because of numerical rounding.
on final approach and landing. Although
the actual numbers remain low, most Distribution of fatal accidents and onboard fatalities | 2010 through 2019
technology improvements over the past 100 2000
few decades have focused on taxiing,
climbing, approach, and landing as critical Fatal accidents
safety factors. Onboard fatalities
80
1500

Onboard Fatalities
Fatal Accidents

60

1000

40
662

519
439 500
20
13
11 242
6 152
112 5
3 2 3 71
0 24 1 1
0 0
Taxi, load/ Takeoff Initial Climb Cruise Descent Initial Final Landing
unload, climb (flaps up) approach approach
parked,
tow
16
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

17
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

About this Document

The accident statistics presented in this summary are confined to worldwide 2. Commercial airplanes operated in military service. (However, if a military-
commercial jet airplanes that are heavier than 60,000 pounds maximum owned commercial jet transport is used for civilian commercial service,
gross weight. Within that set of airplanes, there are two groups excluded: those data will be included in this summary.)

1. Airplanes manufactured in the Commonwealth of Independent States

(CIS) or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), excluded because
of the lack of operational data.

The following airplanes are included in the statistics:

Boeing Airbus BAE SYSTEMS (Avro) BAE SYSTEMS (HS) Embraer Lockheed
707/720 717 A300 Avro RJ70/85/100 BAe 146 E170/175 L-1011
727 DC-8 A300-600 Comet 4 E190/195
737 DC-9 A310 BAE SYSTEMS (BAC) Trident Dassault Aviation
747 DC-10/MD-10 A320/321/319/318 Concorde Fokker Mercure
757 MD-11 A330 One-Eleven Bombardier F28
767 MD-80/-90 A340 VC10 CRJ700/900/1000 F70 General Dynamics
777 A350 F100 (Convair)
787 A380 Aerospatiale CV-880/-990
717 C Series Caravelle

Flight operations data for Boeing airplanes are developed internally from Readers may note that cumulative accident totals from year to year may
airline operator reports. Flight operations data for non-Boeing airplanes not exactly correlate with the expected change from the previous year’s
are compiled by Cirium. The source of jet airplane inventory data is accidents. This is a result of periodic audits of the entire accident history
Jet Information Services, Inc. for updates to the data.

Accident data are obtained, when available, from government accident Definitions related to development of statistics in this summary are primarily
reports. Otherwise, information is from operators, manufacturers, based on corresponding International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), U.S.
various government and private information services, and press accounts. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and Flight Safety Foundation
(FSF) terms, as explained in the next section.

18
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Definitions
Airplane Accident Excluded Events
An occurrence associated with the operation of an airplane that takes place • Fatal and nonfatal injuries from natural causes.
between the time any person boards the airplane with the intention of flight • Fatal and nonfatal self-inflicted injuries or injuries inflicted by other persons.
and such time as all such persons have disembarked, in which:
• Fatal and nonfatal injuries of stowaways hiding outside the areas normally
• The airplane sustains substantial damage. available to the passengers and crew.
• The airplane is missing or is completely inaccessible. An aircraft is • Nonfatal injuries resulting from atmospheric turbulence, normal
considered to be missing when the official search has been terminated maneuvering, loose objects, boarding, disembarking, evacuation, and
and the wreckage has not been located. maintenance and servicing.
• Death or serious injury results from: • Nonfatal injuries to persons not aboard the airplane.
- Being in the airplane. The following occurrences are not considered airplane accidents: those
- Direct contact with the airplane or anything attached thereto. that are the result of experimental test flights or the result of a hostile action,
- Direct exposure to jet blast. including sabotage, hijacking, terrorism, and military action.

Note: This is generally consistent with the ICAO and the NTSB definition of
an accident. (See the Referenced ICAO and NTSB Definitions section.)

The differences are:

1. The ICAO and NTSB references to “aircraft” were changed to “airplane”

and references to propellers and rotors were eliminated.
2. This publication excludes events that result in nonfatal injuries from
atmospheric turbulence, normal maneuvering, etc.; nonfatal injuries
to persons not aboard the airplane; and any events that result from
an experimental test flight or from hostile action, such as sabotage,
hijacking, terrorism, and military action.

Note: Within this publication, the term “accident” is used interchangeably

with “airplane accident.”

19
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Definitions
Destroyed Serious Injury
The estimated or likely cost of repairs would have exceeded 50 percent An injury that is sustained by a person in an accident and that:
of the new value of the airplane had it still been in production at the time
• Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within
of the accident.
seven days from the date the injury was received.
Note: This definition is consistent with the FSF definition. NTSB defines • Results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers,
“destroyed” as damaged due to impact, fire, or in-flight failures to an extent toes, or nose).
not economically repairable.
• Causes severe hemorrhage, nerve, muscle, or tendon damage.
Fatal Injury
• Involves injury to any internal organ.
Any injury that results in death within 30 days of the accident.
• Involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than
Note 1: This is consistent with both the ICAO and the NTSB definitions. five percent of the body surface.
• Involves verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation.
Note 2: External fatalities include on-ground fatalities as well as fatalities
on other aircraft involved. Note: This is generally consistent with the ICAO definition. It is also
consistent with the NTSB definition except for the last bullet item, which is
Major Accident
not included in the NTSB definition.
An accident in which any of three conditions is met:

• The airplane was destroyed.

• There were multiple fatalities.
• There was one fatality and the airplane was substantially damaged.

Note: This definition is consistent with the NTSB definition. It also is

generally consistent with FSF, except that the FSF definition specifies that
fatalities include only occupants of the airplane. ICAO does not normally
define the term “major accident.”

20
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Definitions
Substantial Damage Note 1: This definition is generally consistent with the NTSB definition of
Damage or failure that adversely affects the structural strength, substantial damage except it (1) deletes reference to “small puncture holes
performance, or flight characteristics of the airplane, and that would normally in the fabric” and “ground damage to rotor or propeller blades,” and (2)
require major repair or replacement of the affected component. deletes “damage to landing gear” from the list of items not considered to
be substantial damage.
Substantial damage is not considered to be:
Note 2: ICAO does not define the term “substantial damage.” Still, the
• Engine failure or damage limited to an engine, if only one engine fails above definition is generally consistent with the ICAO definition of damage
or is damaged. or structural failure contained within part (B) of the ICAO accident definition.
• Bent fairings or cowlings. Note 3: Boeing does not consider damage to be substantial if repairs to
• Dents in the skin. an event airplane enable it to be flown to a repair base within 48 hours of
• Small puncture holes in the skin. the event.

• Damage to wheels.
• Damage to tires.
• Damage to flaps.
• Damage to engine accessories.
• Damage to brakes.
• Damage to wingtips.

21
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Boeing Terms*
Accident Rates
In general, this expression is a measure of accidents per million departures.
Departures (or flight cycles) are used as the basis for calculating rates
because 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
passenger miles or freight 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.

Airplane Collisions
Events involving two or more airplanes are counted as separate events,
one for each airplane. For example, destruction of two airplanes in a collision
is considered to be two separate accidents.

Fatal Accident
An accident that results in fatal injury.

Hull Loss
Airplane totally destroyed or damaged and not repaired. Hull loss also
includes, but is not limited to, events in which

• The airplane is missing. An aircraft is considered to be missing when

the official search has been terminated and the wreckage has not
been located.
• The airplane is completely inaccessible.

*The terms on this page were created by Boeing for this publication and do not have corresponding equivalents in ICAO or NTSB.
22
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Exclusions*
Excluded Airplanes
Airplanes manufactured in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) are excluded because
of the lack of operational data. Commercial airplanes operated in military
service are generally excluded. (If a military-owned commercial jet transport
is used for civilian commercial service, those data are included in
this summary.)

Excluded Events
• Fatal and nonfatal injuries from natural causes.
• Fatal and nonfatal self-inflicted injuries or injuries inflicted by other persons.
• Fatal and nonfatal injuries of stowaways hiding outside the areas normally
available to the passengers and crew.
• Nonfatal injuries resulting from atmospheric turbulence, normal
maneuvering, loose objects, boarding, disembarking, evacuation,
and maintenance and servicing.
• Nonfatal injuries to persons not aboard the airplane.
• Experimental test flights. (However, maintenance test flights, ferry,
positioning, training, and demonstration flights are not excluded.).
• Sabotage, hijacking, terrorism, and military action.

*Certain airplanes and events are excluded from consideration as accidents in this summary. This is a complete list of those exclusions.
23
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Referenced ICAO and NTSB Definitions*

Accident B. The aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which:
ICAO defines an “accident” as follows: • Adversely affects the structural strength, performance, or flight
Accident. An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, characteristics of the aircraft, and
in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person • Would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected
boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such component, except for engine failure or damage, when the damage
persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes is limited to a single engine (including its cowlings or accessories), to
place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of propellers, wingtips, antennas, probes, vanes, tires, brakes, wheels,
flight until such time as it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the fairings, panels, landing gear doors, windscreens, the aircraft skin (such as
primary propulsion system is shut down, in which: small dents or puncture holes), or for minor damages to main rotor blades,
tail rotor blades, landing gear, and those resulting from hail or bird strike
A. A person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of: (including holes in the radome).
• Being in the aircraft, or C. The aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.
• Direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have
become detached from the aircraft, or NTSB defines an “aircraft accident” as follows:

• Direct exposure to jet blast, except when the injuries are from natural Aircraft accident means an occurrence associated with the operation of an
causes, self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons, or when the injuries aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft
are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in
passengers and crew. which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft
receives substantial damage. For purposes of this part, the definition of
“aircraft accident” includes “unmanned aircraft accident,” as defined in 49
CFR 830.2.

*International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) definitions are included below for reference.
24
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Referenced ICAO and NTSB Definitions*

Serious Injury Substantial Damage
ICAO defines “serious injury” as follows: NTSB defines “substantial damage” as follows:

Serious Injury. An injury that is sustained by a person in an accident and Substantial damage means damage or failure that adversely affects the
which: structural strength, performance, or flight characteristics of the aircraft,
and which would normally require major repair or replacement of the
A. Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within affected component. Engine failure or damage limited to an engine if only
seven days from the date the injury was received; or one engine fails or is damaged, bent fairings or cowling, dented skin,
B. Results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes small puncture holes in the skin or fabric, ground damage to rotor or
or nose); or propeller blades, and damage to landing gear, wheels, tires, flaps, engine
C. Involves lacerations that cause severe hemorrhage, nerve, muscle, or accessories, brakes, or wingtips are not considered “substantial damage”
tendon damage; or for the purpose of this part.

D. Involves injury to any internal organ; or ICAO does not define the term “substantial damage.”
E. Involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than
5 percent of the body surface; or
F. Involves verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation.

NTSB defines “serious injury” as follows:

Serious injury means any injury that

1. Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7

days from the date the injury was received;
2. Results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes,
or nose);
3. Causes severe hemorrhages, nerve, muscle, or tendon damage;
4. Involves any internal organ; or
5. Involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than
five percent of the body surface.

25
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Notes

26
STATISTICAL SUMMARY DECEMBER
2019 2020

Notes

27