Africa: Aircraft Graveyard
A statistic you may have heard goes something along the lines of: "Although only about 4% of the world's air traffic passes over Africa, 1 in 4 plane crashes happen in Africa." We decided to do a little research to check whether this oft-quoted stat has any science behind it.
The statistics from 1945 until now (20 May 2007) are:
CONTINENT |
ACCIDENTS |
% of ACCIDENTS |
|---|---|---|
North America |
839 |
25% |
Europe |
753 |
22% |
Asia |
633 |
19% |
South America |
557 |
16% |
Africa |
318 |
9% |
Central America |
144 |
4% |
Australasia |
103 |
3% |
international waters |
68 |
2% |
North and South Poles |
5 |
0% |
TOTAL |
3420 |
100% |
From the above stats, it's certainly not true that 1 in 4 plane crashes occurs in Africa, the reality is that less than 1 in 10 plane crashes have occurred in Africa since 1945.
What about the more recent past?
Sadly, over the more recent past Africa has had a larger share of the world's fatal accidents. Examining the period from 2001 to 20 May 2007, there have been 349 fatal accidents in the world, of which 60 have occurred in Africa. So, over this period 17% of fatal airplane accidents have occurred in African skies, or just less than 1 in 5 fatal plane crashes occur in Africa - not quite as bad as the oft-quoted 1 in 4 stat, but troublesome nevertheless.
What about South Africa?
[1] According to the Aviation Safety Network, The last fatal aircraft accident (fatal airliner, military transport and corporate jet aircraft accidents) in South Africa was on the 1st June 2002, when Hansie Cronje and 2 others died.
However, in September 2006 at an airshow in Cape Town, Martin van Straaten crashed his jet plane into Table Bay near Milnerton, during a formation flight with the Sasol Tigers. On the left is a photograph from the last completed flight of the Sasol Tigers.
South African Airways accidents
Date |
Flight number |
Location |
Aircraft Type |
Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
8 Apr 1954 |
201 |
Mediterranean Sea |
de Havilland Comet 1 |
Structural Failure, Metal Fatigue |
13 Mar 1967 |
406 |
Vickers 818 Viscount |
? |
|
20 Apr 1968 |
228 |
Windhoek |
Boeing 707-344C |
? |
28 Nov 1987 |
295 |
Indian Ocean |
Boeing 747-244B Combi |
In-Flight Fire |
Kenya Airways accidents
The Kenya Airways crash at Douala was not a typical African accident in that Kenya Airways is regarded as one of the safest airlines in Africa. Established in 1977, Kenya Airways has had 2 fatal crashes:
Date |
Flight number |
Location |
Aircraft Type |
Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
30 Jan 2000 |
431 |
Abidjan |
Airbus A310-304 |
Pilot Error |
5 May 2007 |
KQ 507 |
Cameroon |
Boeing 737-800 |
Undetermined |
In the January 2000 crash there were 10 survivors - one of whom, a Frenchman, swam to shore. In the May 2007 crash all lives were lost.
Kenya Airways also had non-fatal accidents on the 10th July 1988 and the 11th July 1989, both cases involving the problems with the landing gear.