Statistical data shows that air travel is the safest means of transportation. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2022, 32.2 million flights were operated, and out of this large number, only 39 flights ended in accidents. Most aircraft accidents occur during take-off and landing, where the aircraft is the closest to the ground.

According to statistical research by Boeing, 16% of fatal accidents occur during the take-off and initial climb, while 29% occur during the phase of landing. During these moments, the aircraft's speed and altitude are at their lowest, more manoeuvres are performed, and there are more other aircrafts in the space.

Incident at the Japanese airport

This month in Tokyo, a Japanese Airlines aircraft collided with a Japanese Coast Guard plane while taxiing. The passenger plane skidded, and members of the coastal guard service in the other aircraft, which was flying to assist those affected by an earthquake, lost their lives.

According to Vincas Snirpunas, an expert in aviation and lecturer at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University's Antanas Gustaitis' Aviation Institute (AGAI), it is still difficult to talk about the exact cause of the accident, but it could be presumed what may have influenced this accident.

"Aircraft collided due to poor coordination of the taxiing-takeoff route. Taxiing is the most dangerous stage, requiring maximum vigilance from the crew, flight commanders, and ground services," says the aviation expert. "First of all, we must thank and commend the crew of the Japanese airline, who managed to control the passengers and save all 376 lives. When an aircraft experiences an accident - colliding with another aircraft on the taxiing route - the crew did not panic and correctly, following the instructions, executed the passenger evacuation."

According to the aviation expert, the most complex and dangerous stage of the flight is the aircraft taxiing, requiring maximum vigilance from the crew, flight commanders, and ground services. Of course, the technical condition of the aircraft must also be suitable for safe taxiing.

The accident raises important questions

According to Vincas Snirpunas, an expert at VILNIUS TECH, aviation companies currently use procedures and methods that help evaluate the risk of each airline's flight:

"All organizations involved in aviation that are directly involved with flights have implemented Safety Management Systems (SMS), which allow identifying or modelling situations very close to an incident or accident. If such situations are identified, the organization must take preventive action to reduce flight risk, thereby reducing the likelihood of an accident to zero."

However, the incident in Japan, according to V. Snirpunas, raises many questions: "Why didn't the aircraft stop but rolled onto the takeoff-landing route? Why didn't the border guard aircraft hear that the other aircraft was descending into the same route? Why didn't the taxiing aircraft notice that the other aircraft was on the route? Why didn't the flight commanders notice that two aircraft were on the same route at the same time? All these questions, I believe, will be answered by a detailed investigation of the accident."

Although statistically air travel remains the safest way to travel, aircraft accidents often cause great fears. In the event of an accident, it is important to check safety systems and communication between airport units not only in the affected country but also for airports worldwide.

Based on probabilities, IATA calculated that a person would have to fly once a day for 25,214 years to experience at least one life-threatening incident.