Editorial: rarely, but happen it does

Photo: AP / Scanpix

In Europe at least, flying has felt like a super safe thing to do for a long while. Occasionally, we do read the news about accidents with casualties, but usually «where we are not» or where we travel seldom – Asia, Africa, or Russia, to look closer. In European Union, we have flight safety rules in place, the surveillance does function, and moving about the continent by plane has long ceased to seem like an adventure.

Alas, yesterday was tough and different. On its way from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, Tuesday morning, the no-frills Germanwings Airbus A320 never made it, crashing while above the Alps in France. Presumably, all 144 passengers plus the crew of six perished. Probably, most hailed from Germany and Spain – but not all.

The rarity of such multiple death crashes in Europe is underlined by the fact that France last had it happen in 2000 as an Air France plane, aiming to cross the ocean, fell down after taking off in Paris. Also, one is reminded of an Air France aircraft lost while above the Atlantic in 2009, claiming the lives of 228.

The unfortunate Germanwings is a subsidiary to Lufthansa – the latter considered a safest carrier in the world. The cause of the crash we can only speculate, for the time being. Indeed, the plane in question had been in use for 24 years, but then again: it’s a most widely used and safe plane type, with thousands like this in operation globally. The plane had just recently been checked and the pilot was experienced.

Statistics seem to be on the passenger’s side. According to planecrashinfo.com data for 1993–2012, the travellers with 78 leading airlines had one chance in 4.7 million to perish. Meanwhile, observing the 39 safest carriers, it was one in 19.8 million.  

BBC data says 2014 was the safest flights year in history (excluding the Malaysian passenger plane shot down above Ukraine, not considered an accident). Meanwhile, this will not comfort the loved ones of those that fell to their deaths in France, yesterday.

A task for the German and French authorities, now, to find out why it happened.  Thereafter, conclusions can be drawn about how make such accidents rarer yet. Or, better yet, nonexistent. Any such crash is one too many. To prevent any loss of life, all efforts are worth the while.