Plane travel is amongst one of the safest modes of transportation, but when accidents happen they can be devastating.
Despite being relatively uncommon, airplane collisions and crash landings are rarely minor. On the plus side aviation accident rates have gone down in recent years.
But the increasing popularity of private jet travel and helicopter flights could see that trend reversed. Only yesterday (September 7) in the UK a ‘surreal’ aviation collision saw a man taken to a major trauma centre at a hospital for treatment.
The light aircraft he had been travelling in crashed in Upminster, after an eye-witness observed it silently heading towards him without its propellers moving.
(Image: Colin Neale/BPM Media)
The Metropolitan Police responded to a 999 call reporting the 1.08pm crash, and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is investigating the reason for the crash.
Luckily for the pilot he crashed at Belhus Country Park, and members of the West Essex Bowmen archery club were by the park at the time.
Quick thinking archers pulled away a pilot as fuel gushed out after it crashed. His condition is not known at this time, the Met Police said.
Mr Alex Sarzi-Sartori was at the West Essex Bowmen archery club when he saw a plane flying low in the corner of his eye. He told Echo News: ““It was dead quiet. In my head I jokingly thought ‘do they make electric planes now’?
“I saw the propellers weren’t actually moving and I thought ‘hang on a minute – that’s trying to land’.”
He made his way to the crash site and saw that the propeller “swung around” and “pinned” the pilot to his seat and “fuel gushing out in big quantities”.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Mr Sarzi-Sartori said: “It was a bit surreal. He was aiming for us at some point and for a split second I though at one point we’re going to have to run. But then all of a sudden it sort of went down.”
But why are so many aircraft going down?
According to aviation crash statistics collated by US legal firm, Panish Law, 80% of all accidents can be attributed to human error.
They say that the most dangerous times in an aircraft are takeoff, landing, and the periods around those events.
Their report states: “Pilot error is thought to account for 53% of aircraft accidents, with mechanical failure (21%) and weather conditions (11%) following behind.
“Even in the best training situations, where flight crews undertake comprehensive simulator-based training, human beings tend to revert to previous habitual behaviours.
“Training helps, but it takes people time to develop muscle memory which can result in catastrophic unintended consequences, particularly when flying a highly maneuverable aircraft.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Quoting statistics from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which provides statistics and investigates collisions, the report showed how many times human error came into play.
According to the NTSB database, which has tracked every reportable accident since 2008, there are over 13,000 accidents that include at least one problem related to personnel.
And these accidents have resulted in over 20,000 personnel-related findings, with an average of 1.54 findings per accident.
However, the report also points out that other factors are in play when pilot errors occur, including the aircraft itself, environmental issues and organizational issues.
But to reduce pre-flight nerves the report says that with 0.01 death per 100 million miles travelled, airplanes are safer than trains which have 0.04 deaths per 100 million miles.
Keep up to date with all the latest news stories, by signing up for one of Daily Star’s free newsletters here.