The skidding of a Pegasus Airlines plane off the runway at Trabzon airport in Turkey this week, resulting in the Boeing 737 ending up nose-down on the edge of the Black Sea, fortunately saw the safe escape of 162 passengers, two pilots and four crew, all thankfully unhurt.
Two weeks ago, two Jet Airways pilots were sacked after allegedly getting into an argument on a flight from London to Mumbai on New Year's Day. The female pilot, who is believed to have been captaining the flight, is said to have been slapped by her male colleague, before leaving the cockpit in tears. He then apparently also left the cockpit, leaving the flight on auto-pilot. A spokesperson for the airline told The Times of India: "A misunderstanding occurred between the cockpit crew of a Jet Airways flight. However, [it] was quickly resolved amicably and the flight with 324 guests including two infants and 14 crew continued its journey to Mumbai, landing safely."
Such incidents keep the spotlight on an industry which depends first and foremost on safety and security for public trust, while all the time having to adapt to changes in technology, growth, congestion, staffing, infrastructure, weather patterns and evolving threats such as terrorism and the use of drones. Yet it's reassuring to remind ourselves that when you look at the records of fatal accidents between 1946 and 2017, and compare them to flights and passenger numbers over the same period, there is an inverse relationship between the growth of scheduled flights and the number of accidents.
Yes, like any mode of transport, there are some accidents. In 2017, the aviation industry saw 44 fatalities on board aircraft and 35 on the ground. Yet this was one of the best years ever: no mean feat, considering that there are more than 100,000 scheduled flights every single day. Compare these figures to the 1.25 million road traffic deaths in 2013 (the latest figures available from the World Health Organisation).
But what is perhaps even more surprising is that this almost impeccable safety record is achieved through the consensus and co-operation of the 192 members of the UN's civil aviation body, the ICAO.
Rather than being a global regulator, the ICAO simply defines standards which individual countries must meet or exceed. Each country has its own aviation regulator, and of course standards differ from country to country. But under the ICAO's "No Country Left Behind" initiative, members are helped to implement ICAO standards and recommended practices as uniformly as possible, "to help insure that implementation is better harmonised globally so that all states have access to the significant socio-economic benefits of safe and reliable air transport."
It is this culture of collaboration and oversight across multiple borders which has led to success, and the UAE, regulated since 1996 by the GCAA, is a good example of this. A relatively late entrant to the global aviation scene, there has from the start been close co-operation between the UAE and the ICAO, and in less than 35 years the country has two of the world's largest and safest airlines.
The highly visible Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme ensures that there is a very public spotlight on the safety focus of member states, covering 8 key areas: legislation, organisation, licensing, operations, airworthiness, accident investigation, air navigation services and airports.
One of the biggest ongoing challenges, is the growing complexity of technology and the interaction between that and the people using it. The global airline industry is held together by the remarkable hard work of thousands of individuals, day in day out. For many aviation experts, it’s now not just about “no country left behind” but “no people left behind.”
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Read more:
[ 2017 safest year yet for commercial jet airliners ]
[ World's safest low-cost airlines revealed ]
[ World's least safe airlines 2018 revealed ]
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RECORD BREAKER
Youngest debutant for Barcelona: 15 years and 290 days v Real Betis
Youngest La Liga starter in the 21st century: 16 years and 38 days v Cadiz
Youngest player to register an assist in La Liga in the 21st century: 16 years and 45 days v Villarreal
Youngest debutant for Spain: 16 years and 57 days v Georgia
Youngest goalscorer for Spain: 16 years and 57 days
Youngest player to score in a Euro qualifier: 16 years and 57 days
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Afghanistan squad
Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
The view from The National
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Disturbing facts and figures
51% of parents in the UAE feel like they are failing within the first year of parenthood
57% vs 43% is the number of mothers versus the number of fathers who feel they’re failing
28% of parents believe social media adds to the pressure they feel to be perfect
55% of parents cannot relate to parenting images on social media
67% of parents wish there were more honest representations of parenting on social media
53% of parents admit they put on a brave face rather than being honest due to fear of judgment
Source: YouGov
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
The five pillars of Islam
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
MATCH DETAILS
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum (14), Oxlade-Chamberlain (52)
Genk 1
Samatta (40)
Wonka
Director: Paul King
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant
Rating: 2/5
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)