2024 will remain a dark year for aeronautics. The number of accidents and victims has literally exploded. Industrial incidents also punctuated the year which is ending.
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The years follow each other and are really not the same, especially in the sky. In 2023, only one fatal accident hit air transport. On the other hand, 2024 is marked by a very heavy toll. But “crashes” are not limited to an increase in fatal accidents. The sector has also been affected by industrial “incidents” affecting large manufacturers.
2024 marks a break. Since 2020, air transport has been following a good trajectory with constant improvement in safety. Last year, only one fatal accident devastated the aeronautics sector, causing 72 victims. This is obviously always too much. However, the indicators did not turn red. In 2024, it’s a dropout. It is the worst toll since 2018, with five air disasters and 302 victims on regular airliner flights.
On January 2, an accident involved a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 and a Japanese Coast Guard DHC-8 at Tokyo-Haneda Airport. Two coastguards were killed and both aircraft were destroyed. Three days later, on January 5, a new disaster was narrowly avoided on board an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max.
In August, an ATR 72-500 from a regional airline crashed in the suburbs of São Paulo. Sixty-two passengers and crew members were killed. The causes of the accident have not yet been established, but a preliminary report points to a sudden freezing phenomenon which would have caused the aircraft to lose its lift.
And the worst is yet to come. At the end of December, in the space of a few days, two crashes occurred: that of Azerbaijan Airlines on December 25 and of Jeju Air on December 29. The results are terrible and weigh down the figures. Without this black streak, we would have remained at the 2023 level.
The crash of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 is the worst air disaster since that of the B737 Max of the Indonesian company Lion Air in 2018.
2024 ends as it began: with one victim. A Swiss Air cabin crew member has died from his injuries following the emergency landing of an Airbus A220-300 in Graz.
In the annals of aeronautics, this year will not only be marked by these accidents. Significant turbulence also shook the two major manufacturers: Airbus and Boeing.
For the American manufacturer, the year 2024 was a real “A terrible year.” AOnce the leader in American aviation, Boeing saw its stock fall by more than 30% in 2024, largely due to the 737 Max accidents, which caused the deaths of 346 people between 2018 and 2019.
In January, an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight, a door stopper has come loose, led to production restrictions imposed by regulators.
Seven months later, Boeing pleaded guilty to fraud for misleading the FAA about pilot training, but the judge rejected the plea deal. Under pressure to improve its safety culture, Boeing saw its CEO, David Calhoun, resign in August.
Since January, 70,000 employees have participated in safety discussions. Last fall, a strike by 33,000 machinists paralyzed 737 Max production for seven weeks, leading to significant pay increases.
Read: “Accelerated engine wear”: Airbus A220 planes affected by P&W reactor failures put companies in difficulty
The last few months have been more positive for its main competitor: Airbus. But the European manufacturer was faced with engine problems from Pratt & Whitney. For several months, manufacturing errors have led to numerous, lengthy inspection and maintenance operations on the A320 and A220 aircraft. Another problem for the Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer: its supply chain. While it was counting on the delivery of 800 planes in 2024, it now plans to deliver only 770 due to persistent difficulties in its supplier chain.
