UK's air accidents board reports increasing number of incidents

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch reported a second consecutive increase in "occurrence notifications" in 2022, with 778 recorded.

There were nine investigations into accidents that killed 11 people, in incidents that involved three light aircraft, two microlights, two gliders and one helicopter, reported the AAIB, which is part of the country's transport ministry.

The AAIB said there were 746 occurrence notifications in 2021, 553 in 2020 and 826 in 2019. During 2023 it opened two formal and 27 field investigations, with a further 78 opened by correspondence.

"The recurring themes for general aviation continued to be loss of control in flight during aerobatics, partial power loss or flight into clouds by unqualified pilots," the AAIB said, while accidents and serious incidents involving commercial air transport aircraft involved "mishandling of the aircraft during landing or go-around, complex electrical failures leading to system degradation, and failures to achieve take-off performance".

During the year the AAIB said it issued 19 safety recommendations, two of them of global concern, and reported a tally of 101 "significant actions" taken by the aviation industry to improve safety, in response to its recommendations.

Despite the recent rise in notifications, the board said that aviation safety is much-improved compared to 1923. “It is remarkable how much aviation safety has improved over the last 100 years through incremental changes to the way that aircraft are designed, manufactured, maintained and operated," said Crispin Orr, its chief inspector of air accidents.

"Almost everywhere one looks across the aviation eco-system there are physical systems and standard practices that have been introduced to improve safety as a direct result of learning from previous accidents and incidents," Orr added.