How Many Plane Crashes in 2020?– The prospect of flying anywhere in 2020 has not been an easy task for airplane lovers.
As the year approaches, the global air travel industry has experienced unprecedented deaths and fiery crashes.
Airlines have been reporting a significant increase in crashes each year. Concurrently, the number of airline passengers has also been going up.
One of the most terrifying catastrophes in history was a plane crash. Many people have died from these accidents, and it can be very hard to get your life back on track.
Life is full of unpredictable situations, and there is no telling when a catastrophe will strike next. It seems that a plane crash can be a disaster that a person will never get over.
How Many Plane Crashes in 2020?
The FAA has released the official list of all major commercial aviation accidents in 2020, with United Airlines and American Airlines leading the pack.
Out of the five disasters that the US recorded in 2020, four were caused by the plane not yet being on board. United had two incidents that resulted in economic losses of $2 billion each and 42 injuries.
American Airlines dealt with similar issues due to planes not yet being on board: a plane was flown without a crew and critical parts were missing, leading to a $3 billion loss and 130 injuries.
American Airlines was not the only airline with such an issue-back in early 2020, British Airways had a similar case of a plane not yet being on board:
after boarding, the airplane’s two pilots were missing, and it turned out that they weren’t even assigned to the particular flight’s crew list.
The cause of this accident is still unknown, but those behind the incident say it cost British Airways $4 billion dollars.
All four planes from United Airlines and American Airlines took off without crew members or important parts, as well as faulty identification equipment, which caused issues at airports around the globe.
In total, 12 000 people were affected by these incidents worldwide. This makes losing a limb more common than dying in an airplane crash.
The remaining major plane crash in 2020 was the result of an accident that occurred during takeoff at Detroit Metro Airport.
A plane was taking off when it collided with another airplane that had failed to take off yet due to its engine breaking down.
The total number of injuries from this incident is estimated at 160, all located in the plane that took off too early.
While this incident seems lucky compared to others, it still resulted in a $1 billion loss for Southwest Airlines and affected several flights until July 2020, one full year after the actual crash.
It also cost Southwest Airlines two planes, which were destroyed completely during the collision.
General aviation (airplanes smaller than commercial ones) had 155 accidents in total in 2020, resulting in 826 fatalities. These accidents include small planes, helicopters, hot air balloons, and other flying objects.
While this number is significantly smaller than that of commercial aviation, the fatalities are still too high. This year’s stats are not as bad as in 2019, when there were 1,128 fatalities, but it’s still a worrying trend.
Hopefully, 2021 will see a decrease in accidents across all types of aviation.
In conclusion, out of the five major commercial aviation accidents in 2020, four were caused by planes not yet on board.
United Airlines and American Airlines had two incidents each that resulted in losses of $2 billion dollars and 42 injuries, respectively.
British Airways had one incident where two pilots went missing and the cause is still unknown, resulting in a $4 billion loss for the company.
Unfortunately, 2020 has been a terrible year for air accidents. And that’s without taking into account the newly introduced drone usage in the skies.
As we’ve seen with the horrific crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft into the side of a building in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on March 10th, All 157 people on board died, along with five on the ground.
This marked the second crash of a 737 Max 8 in a mere five months. To date, there have been no air accidents in 2021.