Is It Safe To Fly? – Data Piece

Unfortunately in the last two years there have been some high profile plane accidents which has impacted the way people think about flying.

Less publicised, however, is the amount of deaths that occur on Australian roads each year.

By comparing fatal aviation accidents and the road death toll for 2013, conclusions are able to be drawn on whether it is safer to be in the sky or on the road.

PART 1- AVIATION

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) revealed in the Aviation Occurrence Statistics Report that General Aviation (GA) including aircraft conducting flying training, aerial work, private/pleasure flying made up one-third of occurrences reported to the ATSB in 2013.

14 commercial aircraft were involved in accidents in 2013, with three fatalities and three serious injuries.

PART 2- ROAD TOLL

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), provides statistics on the road toll across Australia in the Road Deaths Australia 2013 Statistical Summary Report.

Between the years of 2004 and 2013, BITRE have discovered that the national annual amount of fatalities on the road have decreased by 25 percent.

Notice 2013 has fewer deaths of all road users to any other year between 2004 and 2013.

PART 3- COMPARISON

This table displays the results of 2013 aviation incidents and occurrences.

In comparison, this data shows the deaths on Australia’s roads in 2013.

RESULTS

Despite the series of high profile aviation accidents in recent years, by comparing aviation statistics to the road death toll in Australia, it is clear to see that there are more deaths on the roads than aviation fatalities.

So next time you’re feeling uneasy about flying, remember that it’s statistically safer in the sky!

Written by Alison Hattley