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   Aviation was considerably safer in 2019 than one year previously. In the area   
   of flight safety the past year was dominated by the perils of the Boeing 737   
   MAX, but the number of accidents and fatalities was relatively low across the   
   board. This is evident from the Civil Aviation Safety Review of aviation   
   consultancy firm To70.   
       
   In 2019 a total of 86 aircraft accidents occurred, eight of which were fatal.   
   A total of 257 people died. In 2018, there were 160 accidents and 534   
   fatalities. The best year ever in terms of flight safety is still 2017, when   
   only thirteen people died in a total of two accidents.   
       
   To70 comes to an accident rate of 0.18 for 2019. That amounts to one fatal   
   accident per every 5.58 million passenger flights. The accident rate in 2018   
   was still 0.20.   
       
   The biggest accident occurred last year on March 13, when a Boeing 737 MAX 8   
   from Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after departure from Addis Ababa   
   airport due to problems with the new MCAS system. All 157 passengers were   
   killed. That much-discussed accident, the second within five months with a   
   plane of this type, led to the worldwide flight ban for the 737 MAX.   
       
   On May 5, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 caught fire after a hard landing at Moscow   
   Sheremetyevo airport. A total of 41 people died in the sea of flames. The   
   number of deaths was higher because some passengers in the front part of the   
   aircraft delayed the evacuation by disembarking with their luggage.   
       
   Three other crashes resulted in a total of 55 casualties. On March 9, 14   
   people died in Colombia in an accident with an antique Douglas DC-3. On 24   
   November a Dornier 228 crashed in a residential area in the Congo, killing 29   
   people (ten of them on the ground). In the accident with a Fokker 100 of Bek   
   Air in Kazakhstan on December 27, 12 people were mourned.   
       
   Despite the positive figures for 2019, To70 emphasizes that a number of   
   important questions still need to be answered about the Boeing 737 MAX. In   
   particular, the agency refers to the responsibility that aviation authorities   
   place on aircraft builders, and the provision of information and training   
   procedures when introducing new systems. According to To70, the question must   
   also be asked whether the Boeing 737 MAX is not a too far development of the   
   737 concept.   
       
   "We expect these questions to be answered and the 737 MAX is likely to return   
   to service in 2020," said Adrian Young of To70 in the Civil Aviation Safety   
   Review.   
      
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