(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Air transportation safety has been under intense glare after Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappeared mysteriously on way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur in 2014. The accident triggered strong global interest in commercial aviation safety and apparently brought forth changes in standards.
Since then a number of aviation incidents and tragedies have dug up sensitive questions, especially with terrorism lurking in all corners of the globe, and roaring insurgencies transforming militant groups into non-state actors.
The latest aircraft tragedy involving EgyptAir MS804 has yet again raked up the issue of aviation safety. It has been largely believed, going by statistics, that air transport is the safest mode. Experts believe that air crashes kill fewer people than road accidents or railway mishaps. The last two years have seen a number of dramatic air crashes involving international flights, so that flying is being seen as largely unsafe.
Amid the rumble generated by the infamous MH370 incident came another one that shook the world of aviation. A Malaysian Airline plane — MH17— was brought down over Ukraine, killing everyone on board. A probe found it was shot by a Russian BUK missile while flying over the insurgency-hit former Soviet Republic. Incidentally, relatives of victims yesterday sued the Russian state and President Vladimir Putin for $10m over the crash for which the Kremlin has been blamed
Last year, a Germanwings plane flew into the side of a mountain in the French Alps killing all passengers and crew. Probe revealed the co-pilot was suffering from severe depression and took it down deliberately. This sparked a debate on the human aspect of flying and repercussions of people with mental health issues in the cockpit. The accident, technically classified as controlled-flight into terrain, led to a rethink of the rules for the psychological testing of pilots.
An AirAsia crash near Indonesia also roiled the waters in aviation safety circles. So did the bombing of a Russian airliner by the Islamic State over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt last year.
The latest EgyptAir crash could be a blip on the graph of air accident statistics, but international aviation organisations should factor in the rising frequency of crashes and the number of casualties involved while planning for the expansion of air travel.
Falling fuel prices and expanding international trade will likely lead to more passengers and a jump in the number of airlines navigating the globe. This could throw up new safety challenges. Futuristic technology could be enlisted for the purpose but it is ultimately institutional will and ingenuity that will make a difference.