That Germanwings plane crash yesterday really should not have happened. Since the airline was created in 2002, there have been no “major air disasters”, and its parent company, Lufthansa, has a great safety record, having not had an accident since 1993 (an aircraft overshot a runway and a fire that broke out on board killed two people).
What possibly could have gone wrong? According to the head of Germanwings, Thomas Winkelmann, the plane had a full check out from Lufthansa safety inspectors. Lufthansa is known worldwide for its very high safety standards. Also, the pilot of flight 4U9525 had “ten years of experience and more than 6,000 flight hours behind him”.
The only potential detail of concern to emerge from the reports of Tuesday’s disaster was the age of the ill-fated plane – 24 years – approaching the end of the A320’s usual lifespan of 25-30 years but still within the bounds of international safety regulations.
The Airbus A320 is one of the most widely used planes in the world. According to Phil Seymour, president of the International Bureau of Aviation, “as long as you have your maintenance schedule in place and follow all the procedures together with the manufacturer, there is absolutely no issue with the age of an airplane”. He also said that whilst there have been some incidents in the past, “generally speaking, they’re safer than most aircraft out there now”.
That graph shows that the Airbus A320 is well within the top ten safest aircraft out there. You do not have to cancel your holiday to Europe just yet.
