At a global level, between 2020-2022, there have been around 10 fatal accidents annually. In 2023, this number dropped to 2 fatal accidents per year. From these 2 accidents, there were 77 fatalities, marking a decrease compared to 2022. It is the second-lowest fatality count in the decade, close to the record-lowest number set in 2017 (66 fatalities).
The most severe global accident of the year was with an ATR 72 on January 15, 2023, near Pokhara in Nepal. This accounted for 72 out of the 77 total fatalities in large-aeroplane passenger and cargo operations worldwide in 2023.
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Commercial air transport (CAT) aeroplanes
The geopolitical landscape continues to impact aviation safety significantly, leading to reduced airspace availability and particularly the manipulation of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals through jamming and spoofing. The Tokyo Haneda Airport runway collision that occurred in January confirmed the importance of further actions to improve runway safety.
In 2023, there were 7.3 Million safe flights in Europe with no fatal accidents involving a European operator both for complex and non-complex aeroplanes. Further, there were 94 accident and serious-incident occurrences in 2023, coded with the ‘system component failure’ occurrence category for complex CAT aeroplanes.
For specialised operations (SPO), 2023 was the year of the lowest number of accidents since 2013 — 11 in total. The majority of SPO accidents and serious incidents fell into the loss of control in flight (LOC-I) occurrence category.
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Non-commercial operations (NCO) aeroplanes
In 2023, there were 35 fatal accidents in General Aviation (GA) resulting in 68 fatalities. The numbers stay stubbornly high and show no major change over the past 10 years.
The top accident cause was loss of engine power for various reasons, partly leading to loss of control, too often due to lack of airspeed and attitude monitoring. Mid-air collisions and terrain collisions are also high on the list. This shows the importance of private pilots being able to handle emergencies and the need for these aircraft to install iConspicuity equipment so that they can see, and be seen by, other aircraft.
The most risky key risk area remains aircraft upset, which demonstrates that we need to be vigilant before preparing for each and every flight.
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2023 saw an improvement in helicopter safety, although there have been 98 fatalities in the past 5 years, so there is still work to be done.
The top cause of accidents is loss of control, and this highlights the important role of the EASA Rotorcraft Roadmap, which includes, as action, the need to increase access to helicopter training devices using virtual reality (VR) technology.
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In 2023, balloon operations experienced no fatal accidents. There were 4 serious incidents recorded, a decrease compared to the 10-year average. For the period 2019-2023, abnormal runway contact was the most common cause of injuries, as it was recorded in 29 reports. In the context of balloon operations, abnormal runway contact refers to hard landings. In 2023, only 4 % of balloon accidents and serious incidents occurred during the take-off or en-route phases, while 56 % occurred during landing, making a case for restraint harnesses.
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There were 7 fatalities in the sailplane domain in 2023, compared with 27 in 2022. There was also a corresponding drop in fatal accidents compared with 2022. However, over the last decade, we have regularly seen spikes in the number of fatal accidents in this domain (e.g. in 2015, 2019, and 2022). This shows the importance of vigilance, particularly in flight preparation.
The top accident cause is abnormal runway contact, which means landing both on and off an airfield. Off-field landings often cause damage but rarely injuries or fatalities. The biggest killer, however, is aircraft upset, followed by inflight obstacle collision and terrain collision.
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Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) / drones
For the first time, this ASR 2024 edition includes a chapter on UAS operations in the Member States (MSs). While the taxonomy does not yet allow for very detailed analysis, the key statistics are presented, setting a baseline for comparison in the coming years.
There were 1 fatal and 1 serious injury involving UAS operations in the Member States. Both were associated with the operation of model aircraft in the context of model aircraft clubs and associations. There were 2 serious incidents in 2023 in the incident category ‘(near) midair collision’ (MAC) between UAS and manned aircraft.
The domain saw a total of 12 accidents and serious incidents in 2023; 1 fatal and 9 non-fatal accidents, as well as 2 serious incidents. In 66 % of the recorded accidents and serious incidents in the domain, neither persons on the ground nor in the air were affected.
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Aerodromes (ADR) and ground handling (GH)
For the Aerodromes (ADR) and ground handling (GH) operations, the yearly rate of accidents and serious incidents has decreased for the second year in a row in 2023, down to 1.7 accidents and serious incidents per million aerodrome movements. 2023 saw 17 non-fatal accidents and serious incidents in the domain, which is the lowest number over the last ten years.
While there has not been a fatal accident in the ADR and GH operations in the last ten years, the year 2023 saw only 1 serious injury, for the fourth time in the last ten years. For the ADR and GH operations, during the period 2019-2023, there were more than 108 occurrences coded ‘ground collision’. This is by far the most frequently used incident category attributed to accident or serious incidents in the domain.
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Air traffic Management / Air Navigation Services (ATM/ ANS)
The were no fatalities with ATM/ANS contribution recorded in 2023 and in the preceding decade. From 2019 to 2021, the serious incident rate decreased, it plateaued in 2021 and 2022, and decreased again in 2023.
For 2013-2023, looking at the average of occurrences, approach was the most affected flight phase with ATM contribution followed by en route, and take-off.
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European Central Repository (ECR)
With more than 300 000 occurrence reports in 2023, the number of reports was the highest observed since 2016, and 37 % higher than in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. With 31.1 reports per 1 000 airport movements in 2023, the reporting rate remained almost at the highest level, which was observed in 2021, and very near to the rate observed in 2022.
Since January 1, 2023, the European Risk Classification Scheme (ERCS) is mandatory for all occurrence reports. Nearly 110 000 occurrence records in 2023 were risk-classified by the competent authorities in accordance with the ERCS.
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There were 243 Class D findings in 2023 (which raise safety concerns, if not timely corrected). The number of Class G findings rose to 7 in 2023 (immediate safety concerns (ISCs)). The average number of findings per inspection increased to 7.7 in 2023, compared to 6.9 in 2022.
Key outcomes of standardisation (STD) activities reveal that there is:
- lack of effective oversight;
- challenges with the availability of sufficient and competent personnel;
- inadequate change management;
- Member States struggling to restore their oversight function — a changing landscape;
- difficulties in implementing the occurrence-reporting obligations and oversight; and
- action needed for securing maintenance-training examinations.