Commercial Airplanes

Statistical
Summary of
Commercial Jet
Airplane Accidents
Worldwide Operations
1959 - 2003

1959 2003
Contents
Introduction 2
Definitions 3
Terms and Exclusions 5
Airplane Accidents, Year 2003 List 6
Departures, Flight Hours, and Jet Airplanes in Service 7
Accident Summary by Type of Operation 8
Accident Summary by Damage and Injury 9
Accident Rates and Fatalities by Year 10
Accident Rates by Years Following Introduction 11
U.S.A. and Canadian Operators Accident Rates 12
Accident Rates by Type of Operation 13
Accident Rates by Airplane Type 14
Fatalities by Accident Category 15
Accidents and Onboard Fatalities by Phase of Flight 16
Accidents by Primary Cause 17
Excluded Events 18
Hostile Actions 19
Non-Hostile Events 20

Published by:

Airplane Safety
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
P.O. Box 3707 M/S 67-TC
Seattle, Washington 98124-2207, U.S.A.
(425) 237-1692
E-mail: statsum@boeing.com
www.boeing.com/news/techissues
May 2004

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Introduction

The accident statistics presented in this document apply to worldwide commercial jet airplanes that are heavier than 60,000 pounds
maximum gross weight. These statistics are presented in two distinct sections called; Statistical Accidents, which outlines hull loss,
substantial damage, fatal injury and serious injury accidents; and Excluded Events, outlining hostile actions, and non-hostile events.

Not covered in this document are airplanes manufactured in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (former Soviet Union),
which are excluded because of the lack of operational data. Statistics on commercial airplanes operated in military service are not
covered in this document; however, when a military-owned commercial jet transport type is used for civilian commercial service, those
data are contained within this document.

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 CRJ-700/-900 F-100 Caravelle
737 MD-11 A320/319/321 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 is 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.

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
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 the 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 struc tural 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 an accident.

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Definitions (continued)

Serious injury: An injury sustained in an 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, RJ-70/-85/-100
Caravelle* F-28 A310
Mercure* Trident* A300-600
VC-10* 737-300/-400/-500
A320/319/321
F-100
F-70
747-400
* These types are no longer in significant commercial service. MD-11
A340
A330
777
737-600/-700/-800/-900
717
CRJ-700/-900
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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Terms and Exclusions

Regional identification: Events are identified by the operator’s national domicile and by event location.

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 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 passenger 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 appear to vary between editions of this publication.

Excluded events:
• 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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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Airplane Accidents
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 2003
Date Airline Airplane Type Accident Location Hull Fatalities Phase Description
Loss
1/8/2003 Turkish Airlines (THY) RJ100 Diyarbakir, Turkey X 75 Final approach CFIT crashed into mountain
1/8/2003 TAN Airlines F-28 Chachapoyas, Peru X 46 Initial approach CFIT crashed into mountain
1/17/2003 TAME F-28 Quito, Ecuador 0 Takeoff RTO/tunway excursion
1/23/2003 Star Air 737-200 Jakarta, Indonesia 0 Landing Runway excursion
1/26/2003 VASP Airlines 737-200 Rio Branco, Brazil X 0 Initial approach Hit tree on approach to land
2/15/2003 Evergreen International Airlines 747-200 Catania, Italy 0 Landing Runway overrun on landing
3/6/2003 Air Algerie 737-200 Tamanrasset, Algeria X 103 Takeoff Crashed after takeoff
3/12/2003 Singapore Airlines 747-400 Auckland, New Zealand 0 Takeoff Tailstrike on takeoff
3/21/2003 Royal Air Maroc 737-400 Marrakech, Morocco 0 Landing Landing overrun
3/21/2003 Transasia Airways A321 Tainan, Taiwan 0 Landing Runway excursion
3/26/2003 Royal Air Maroc 737-400 Oujda, Morocco 0 Landing Runway excursion
3/31/2003 AirTran Airways 717-200 New York, USA 0 Parked Evacuation injuries
4/18/2003 Wetrafa Airlift DC-9-32 Brazzaville, Congo X 0 Landing Intentional off runway gear-up landing
6/17/2003 Onur Air MD-88 Groningen, Netherlands 0 Takeoff RTO overrun
7/6/2003 Cielos del Peru DC-10-30 Curitiba, Brazil 0 Landing Landing overrun
7/8/2003 Sudan Airways 737-200 Port Sudan, Sudan X 116 Initial climb Crashed after takeoff
7/11/2003 Air Memphis 707-300C Dacca, Bangladesh X 0 Takeoff RTO overrun
8/11/2003 Garuda Indonesia F-28 Jakarta, Indonesia 0 Landing LMLG collapse
8/15/2003 EasyJet 737-300 Geneva, Switzerland 0 Climb Hail damage in flight
9/12/2003 Northwest Airlines DC-9-15 Norfolk, USA 1 Tow Tug driver fatally injured
10/1/2003 Cargo Air Lines 747-200C Liege, Belgium 0 Landing Landing overrun
10/3/2003 Garuda Indonesia 737-500 Semarang, Indonesia 0 Landing Runway departure
11/1/2003 EgyptAir A321-230 Moscow, Russia 0 Taxi Skidded off runway
11/6/2003 TAME A320 Florianopolis, Brazil 0 Landing Runway offside excursion
11/29/2003 Hydro Air 747-258C La Guaira, Venezuela 0 Landing Runway offside excursion
12/7/2003 East African Safari Air F-28 Lokichokio, Kenya X 0 Landing Runway excursion
12/13/2003 Aero Continente 737-200 Lima, Peru 0 Landing Landed with all landing gear retracted
12/18/2003 FedEx MD-10-10 Memphis, USA X 0 Landing RMLG collapse, fuselage burned
12/18/2003 Lineas Aereas Suramericanas DC-9-15F Mitu, Colombia X 3 Descent Crashed into jungle
12/19/2003 Air Gabon 737- 300 Libreville, Gabon X 0 Landing Landing overrun during heavy rain
12/20/2003 GOL Transportes Aereos Ltda 737- 700 Navegantes, Brazil 0 Landing Landing overrun
12/25/2003 Union Des Transports Africains 727- 200 Cotonou, Benin X 139 Takeoff Hit building on takeoff
32 12 483

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 Departures, Flight Hours, and Jet Airplanes in Service*
Worldwide Operations 1965 Through 2003

40

35 33.92
Departures
• 429.9 million cumulative departures
Flight Hours
Annual departures and

30
(354.2 million on Boeing airplanes)
flight hours (millions)

25
• 712.1 million cumulative flight hours
20
16.90
(595.9 million on Boeing airplanes)
15

10
• 7 manufacturers – 33 significant
types (13 Boeing) in service as of
5
12/31/2003
0
1965 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 2003

Year

18
17,991 (11,755 Boeing)
*Certified jet airplanes greater than
15 60,000 pounds maximum gross
weight, including those in temporary
Number of airplanes,

12
non-flying status and those in use
(thousands)

by non-airline operators. Excluded

9
are military airplanes and CIS -
6
(Soviet Union) manufactured
airplanes.
3

0 1965 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 2003

Year

7
2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Accident Summary by Type of Operation
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

Hull loss and/or

Type of operation All Accidents Onboard fatalities
fatal accidents
1959-2003 1994-2003 1959-2003 1994-2003 1959-2003 1994-2003
Passenger 1,083 291 598 145 25,387 6,415
Cargo 182 77 125 51 220 46
Ferry, test 104 13 61 8 189 23
Other* 2 0 2 0 11 0
Totals 1,371 381 786 204 25,807 6,484
US. & Canada operators 460 92 223 41 6,081 1,052
Rest of the world 911 289 563 163 19,726 5,432
Totals 1,371 381 786 204 25,807 6,484

*Military-owned commercial jet transport types used in civilian commercial service.

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 Accident Summary by Damage and Injury
All Accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1959 through 2003

1,371 accidents worldwide

98 injury accidents with less

than substantial damage 98
(60 fatalities) (60
fatal)

566 substantial damage accidents 566 707 707 hull losses

(19 fatalities) (19 fatal) (437 fatal) (437 fatalities)

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

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 Accident Rates and Fatalities by Year
All Accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1959 through 2003

50 1400

1200
40 Hull loss and/or
fatal accidents Onboard Fatalities
1000

Accident All accidents

30
rate 800
(accidents
Fatalities
per
million 600
departures) 20

400

10
200

0 0
1959 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 95 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 2003
Year

10
2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, may 2004
 Accident Rates by Years Following Introduction
Hull Loss and/or Fatal accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1959 through 2003

60

First generation
Second generation
50
Early Widebody
Current Generation
40
Accident
rate
(accidents 30
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 44
Years since introduction

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 U.S.A. and Canadian Operators Accident Rates
Hull Loss and/or Fatal accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1959 through 2003

50

US. & Canada operators

45
Rest of World

40

35
Accident
rate 30
(accidents
per
25
million
departures)
20

15

10

0
1959 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 2003
Year

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 Accident Rates by Type of Operation
Hull Loss and/or Fatal accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1993 through 2003

3.0
2.64
2.5

10-year 2.0
accident
rate
(accidents
per million 1.5
departures)
0.96
1.0

0.5

0.0
Scheduled passenger operations All other operations*
143.8 million departures 25.4 million departures

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

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 Accident Rates by Airplane Type
Hull Loss Accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1959 through 2003
Hull Losses
Not flying** 83
707/720 124 9.15 14.56
DC-8 73 5.82
727 82 1.10
737-100/-200 72 1.33
DC-9 80 1.28
BAC 1-11 23 2.71
F-28 34 3.72
747-Early 24 1.99
DC-10 22 2.45
A300-Early 9 1.54
L-1011 4 0.75
Concorde 1 11.36*
MD-80/-90 12 0.38
767 4 0.37
757 5 0.37
BAe146, RJ-70/85/100 7 0.95
A310 6 1.68
A300-600 4 1.17
737-300/-400/-500 17 0.37
A320/319/321 9 0.51
F-100 5 0.72
747-400 3 0.83
MD-11 5 3.73
CRJ-700/-900 0 0.0*
A340 0 0.0*
A330 0 0.0*
777 0 0.0
737-600/-700/-800/-900 0 0.0
717 0 0.0*
F-70 0 0.0*
Total 708 1.65
Hull Losses
0 3 6 9 12 15
Hull loss accident Rate per million departures

14 ** The Comet, CV880/990, Caravelle, Trident and VC-10 are no longer in

2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004 commercial service, and are combined in the “Not flying” bar.
* These types have accumulated fewer than 1 million departures .
 Fatalities by Accident Category
Fatal Accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1994 Through 2003

103
2,131

Total Fatalities = 6,795 (6,484 onboard)

2003 fatalities = 484 (483 onboard)

121
1,701

Fatalities

258
244
420
339
231 225
192
121 1
85 37 29 12 3 2

Loss of CFIT* Mid-air In-flight Fuel Structure Takeoff Landing Runway Wind Misc. Fuel RTO** Turbulence Unknown
control in collision fire tank configuration incursion shear fatality exhaustion
flight explosion
Number
of fatal 32 24 2 2 2 1 2 16 3 1 8 3 1 2 6
accidents
* CFIT = Controlled Flight Into Terrain
105 total Note: Accidents involving multiple, non-onboard fatalities are included
** RTO = Refused Takeoff
Accidents involving single, non-onboard fatalities are excluded
Fatalities/accidents are placed in one category only.
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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Accidents and Onboard Fatalities by Phase of Flight
Hull Loss and/or Fatal Accidents - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1994 - 2003

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

Accidents 5% 12% 5% 8% 6% 3% 7% 6% 45%

Fatalities 0% 8% 14% 25% 12% 8% 13% 16% 2%

22% 18%
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%

100
Distribution of accidents and fatalities 2000
1,619 93

80
Hull 1500
loss esiF
ta
itl

Fatalities
and/or 60 1,066
fatal 902 1000
788 865
accidents40
25 539 541
17 500
20 13 14 13
11 11 7 161
3
0 0
Taxi, load, Takeoff Initial Climb Cruise Descent Initial Final Landing
parked climb approach approach

Hull loss and/or fatal accidents Onboard fatalities

16
2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Accidents by Primary Cause*
Hull Loss
- - Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 1994 through 2003

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

Flight Crew 84 62%

Airplane 19 14%

Weather 16 12%

5%
Misc./Other 7

5 4%
Maintenance

Airport/Air Traffic Control 5 4%

Total with 136

known causes
Unknown or 50
awaiting reports
*As determined by the investigating authority,
Total 186 percent of accidents with known causes.

17
2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Excluded Events
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

The following 3 pages, Hostile Actions and Non-Hostile Events, are excluded from the statistical analysis in the
preceding portions of the document and may not be a complete listing due to incomplete reporting.

Hostile Action Events

Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet - 2003
Events which occur as a result of a premeditated, overt act originating from terrorism, sabotage or suicide.

Date Airline Airplane Accident Hull Onboard Description

Type Location Loss

22-Nov-03 DHL Airways A300 Baghdad, Iraq 0 0 The airplane sustained damage to the left
wing by a ground-launched missile.

1 Total events 0 0

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2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
 Hostile Actions
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet — 1983 Through 2003

18 1.8
Number of events
16 1.6
Rate
14 1.4
Number 12 1.2 Sabotage/
of terrorist
events 10 1.0
rate per
8 0.8 million
6 0.6 departures
4 0.4
2 0.2
0 0.0
1983 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 2002 2003
700 Year

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
1983 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 2002 2003
Year

19
2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004
Non-Hostile Events
Worldwide Commercial Jet Fleet

Events Occurring In 2003

Severe turbulence: Pushback:
• No injury – 7 events • Airplane towed into de-icing truck – 1 event
• Flight attendant injury – 12 events Ground operations:
• Passenger injury – 11 events • Engine struck jetway – 1 event
• Passenger and flight attendant injury – 8 events • Airplane damaged while taxiing - inadvertently hit other
Emergency evacuation: airplane, tug, jetway – 1 event
• Minor injury – 6 events • Airplane damaged from foreign object debris – 5 events
• Tug driver fatally injured – 1 event

Events Occurring From 1994 Through 2003

Turbulence

Emergency evacuation

Aircraft struck by vehicle

Servicing injury

Pushback

0 20 40 60 80 100

Number of events
20
2003 STATISTICAL SUMMARY, MAY 2004