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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 2186.PDF
48c H7 OCTOBER 31ST, 1946 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS Accident Reports to he Published : Viking Tour: I.A.T.A. Meeting Opens •s -»B«w**: &£§§§&''; AFRICAN VIKING : One ofthe Vikings ordered by Central African Airways. J ACCIDENT ANALYSIS ACCIDENTS to aircraft, when recorded over a period, are**• difficult to analyse owing to the constantly changing con- ditions. Straight comparisons, no matter what yardstick ischosen, are often misleading and sometimes entirely false. The Ministry of Civil Aviation have recently produced notes on andstatistics of accidents to aircraft on the regular air services flown by United Kingdom operators since 1025. The figuresare interesting, but the comparisons and deductions might easily create a vrong impression. The figures for some of themore interesting years are reproduced. ACCIDENTS ON REGULAR AIR SERVICES FLOWN BY UNITED KINGDOM OPERATORS Year 1946 1945 1938 1933 1932 1925 Aircraft flights Not available 65,200 95,10023,200 9,100 4,000 Aircraftmileage 24,000,000 27,328,000 14,331.0002,638,000 1,793,000 806.000 Passengers carried (indivi- duals) 270,000 251,300 222,20079,100 48,200 11.000 Acci- dentsResult- ing indeath 4 4 2 — Passengers 29 ... 1220 — *> 0 oS! Se r inj 1 4 — Crew "0 — II 8 5 — * *soSi Se r inj 2 — there was a decline in passenger fatalities, per hundred-millionpassenger-miles from 54 to about 10. But both of these figures may be largely accounted for bythe greater average distances flown per flight in the later period. For example, the average in 1926 was 188 miles and,in 1945, 420 miles. The decline in passenger-mile fatalities is also less significant if it is appreciated that each flight in 1945carried half as many passengers again as any one flight in 1925. Coupled with this, it must surely be be ne in mindthat over this period of twenty years there have been great advances in engineering and airframe construction and themodern aircraft should be more reliable than its predecessor. The most startling revelations concern the number of aircraftflights per fatal accident and the number of passengers carried per passenger killed, which are as follows:— Aircraft flights per iatal accident Passengers carried per passenger killed ... 1946 Not available !i,3: 0 1941-45 14.2C0 fl,6C0 1836-40 15,800 23,4(0 183136 22,1C0 11.900 1926-30 6,200 7,700 In a second table the Ministry has made comparisons overlive-year periods to indicate the trend of safety. The number 01 accidents per million aircraft miles was cited as an example.In the first five-year period, from 1926 to 1930, the figure was .82, whereas from 1941 to 1945 it had fallen to .19. Similarly, Each set of figures shows a sharp and encouraging rise in the1930 to 1940 period, but the decline from 1940 to the presert time suggests that we are, once again, approaching a dangerperiod. Most encouraging are the totals, and it is perhaps surprising that the number of people killed during the pasttwenty years amounts to only 331, of which 205 were pas- sengers and the remainder crew. That is a fig-ire whichcompares well with the toll of life in other spheres of transportation. y ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONSI N the House of Lords on Thursday, October 24th, theMinister of Civil Aviation announced his intention to publish in future the complete reports of investigations intoaccidents occurring to Britisn civil aircraft operating scheduled journeys or engaged on a charter, and in all accidents wheredeath or serious injury had occurred. He intends to include also accidents where useful lessons could be learnt. If forsecurity or other reasons publication would not be in the public interest, then naturally it would%e withheld.Enquiries into those accidents which cause unusual public interest, or which may be beneficial to development work mayeven, at the Minister's discretion, be held in public. This will naturally apply to British aircraft operating in theUnited Kingdom or Colonies only. Lord Nathan intends to discuss with other Governments thepossibility of a universal adoption of the scheme, for, as Lord Swinton observed, it was one of the original provisions andintentions of the International Convention that there should always bt the greatest possible pooling and publication ofinformation. GREATER SPEEDSS PEAKING as chairman of the committee on air p of the International Chamber of Commerce in Parishrecently, Mr. Juan T. Trippe, president of P.A.W.A., fore- cast eight-hour services between the United States and Europebefore the end of next year with aircraft which are now being built.Although speeds to-day were good, he said, with air- craft carrying passengers at 300 m.p.h., the travellers in 1947will be offered the option of travelling in luxurious aircraft with sleeping accommodation, cruising at about 340 m.p.h.,or of travelling the same distance in less comfortable air- craft with cruising speeds up to 430 m.p.h., and not long after1947 he thought even that figure would be exceeded. Mr. Trippe endorsed the views of many when he condemned redtape for depriving international air transport of the speed and regularity which it would otherwise provide, and called forinternational co-operation and intensive efforts to abolish excessive passport, visa and customs requirements, and forthe impovement cf ground facilities. A large volume of ail travel is both desirable and attainable, he said.
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