Safety situation in commercial air transport

N.B: For most up-to-date information on safety situation of commercial air transport, change language selection to Finnish. 

Safety of Commercial Air Transport 2024

The year 2024 was a safe one overall for Finnish commercial air transport. However, two exceptional accidents occurred during the year, both of which involved passengers being injured while descending the stairs of an aircraft. The number of serious incidents increased significantly compared to previous years. In many cases, these were again near misses with drones.

Finnish commercial air transport traffic continued to grow compared to the previous year. However, compared to 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic, traffic volumes were still approximately 10% lower. The volume of all commercial air transport (both Finnish and foreign) at Finnish airports continued to grow by approximately 7% compared to the previous year. However, compared to 2019, traffic volumes were approximately 24% lower.

In 2024, Finnish commercial air transport operations were still significantly affected by the war in Ukraine, as they were in 2022 and 2023. The avoidance of conflict areas and the closure of Russian airspace to European operators caused significant changes to flight routes.

The disruption of satellite navigation systems, which began in 2022, continued, and its effects were also visible in Finnish airspace. In the autumn, Traficom published a website Satellite navigation service interference in Finland (External link), which discusses the situation in more detail. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) updatedits information  (External link)on the subject .

As assessed by level 2 indicators (the most typical causal factors for accidents), the number of near-misses in the air  (External link)abroad continued to increase.

Globally, there were 13 fatal accidents in commercial air transport (aircraft with a capacity of 14 or more passengers) in 2024, killing a total of 306 people. This was above the five-year average of 12 fatal accidents and 212 deaths. The most serious accidents of the year occurred in Brazil in August, when an ATR 72 crashed, and in South Korea in December, when a Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway. These accidents killed a total of 241 people.

Source: Aviation Safety Network. (External link)

Accidents

In 2024, two accidents occurred in Finnish commercial air transport, which were almost identical. In both cases, a passenger on an ATR 72 commercial aircraft was exiting the aircraft via a set of retractable stairs when the retractable part of the stair railing unexpectedly failed. As a result, the passenger fell onto the apron and received injuries that required hospital treatment. The first accident occurred at Jyväskylä Airport on 12 January 2024, and the second occurred at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on 12 November 2024.

The Jyväskylä accident was investigated by the Finnish Safety Investigation Authority (OTKES), and the investigation report was published on 18 April 2024. It is available on the OTKES website  (External link). According to the investigation, a cabin crew member had failed to check that the pin locking the stair railing in the up position was correctly attached when opening the rear door. The investigation made several recommendations to the aircraft manufacturer and operators to prevent similar accidents. Although the operator implemented the recommendations, a similar incident later occurred in Helsinki. OTKES launched a full safety investigation  (External link)L2024-03 into the accident at Helsinki Airport, which is still ongoing.

Accidents are extremely rare in Finnish commercial air transport. The previous accident occurred in 2020 when a cabin crew member was entering an aircraft from the upper deck of a stair car. However, the stair car started moving, causing the member to lose balance and fall from a height of approximately 3.5 meters, leading into serious injuries. 
OTKES investigated this incident ( investigation L2020-01  (External link)). The previous accident in scheduled Finnish passenger services occurred in 2005 ( Copterline accident  (External link)), and the most recent incident in other commercial air transport occurred when the landing gear of a cargo aircraft failed  (External link)in Oulu in October 2016.

In 2024, there was also a fatal accident in ground handling operations during the transfer of an aircraft. Since the aircraft was not being used for aviation operations in this situation, the incident was recorded as an occupational accident and not an aviation accident. This incident is described in more detail in section  (External link)3.3 on ground handling operations.

Accident statistics are made proportional by relating incidents to the number of aircraft flight hours. In 2023, approximately 275,000 flight hours were accumulated in commercial air transport. Flight hour statistics for 2024  (External link)will be collected in spring 2025, but according to a preliminary estimate, flight hours increased by approximately 8% compared to the previous year, which would mean approximately 290,000 flight hours. Based on this, the accident frequency in 2024 was estimated to be 0.7 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, while the average for 2014–2023 was approximately 0.2 accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

Browse accident statistics starting from 2005 using an interactive and updating report here. (External link)

List of accidents 2024 (incl. foreign aircraft in Finland)

1. January 2024: A passenger was exiting the cabin of a commercial aircraft when the handrail on the plane's fixed, retractable stairs gave way. The passenger fell down the stairs and was seriously injured.
2. November 2024: A passenger was exiting the cabin of a commercial aircraft when the handrail on the plane's fixed retractable stairs gave way. The passenger fell onto the apron and was seriously injured.
    

Serious incidents 2024

In 2024, 14 serious incidents occurred in Finnish commercial air transport. The number was approximately double the average for 2014–2023. 

Most of the serious incidents were related to near-misses between two aircraft in the air, half of which involved a drone. Near-misses have also accounted for the majority of serious incidents in previous years. Almost all incidents occurred abroad, except for the incident in Muhos on 20 July 2024, when a medical helicopter had to make an emergency avoidance maneuver to avoid a collision with a small aircraft.

The Finnish Safety Investigation Authorirty (OTKES) conducted a report on the incident, which can be read on the OTKES website (External link). The situation occurred in uncontrolled airspace, where avoiding collisions is the responsibility of the pilots. The collision warning system used in the medical helicopter requires that the other aircraft has a transponder turned on. This was not the case in this case. The pilot of the other aircraft has not been reached.

Compared to previous years, the number of serious incidents also increased by five technical failures, which were classified as serious incidents. In two cases, smoke was observed in the aircraft, which led to the flight being aborted and passengers being evacuated. The number of technical failures classified as serious incidents was slightly above the longer-term average. The situation of various technical failures is discussed in more detail in the section on loss of control of the aircraft  (External link).

In 2024, there was also one reported incident where a small commercial aircraft encountered severe turbulence, resulting in one passenger being injured. A similar incident occurred with a small commercial aircraft the previous year.

In addition to the situations involving Finnish aircraft, two serious incidents involving foreign commercial air transport occurred in Finland. In the first case, oil leaking from the engine of a foreign commercial aircraft caught fire at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The crew started the turbine engine, which put out the fire. In the second case, a foreign commercial aircraft started to move after pushback, even though the pushback tractor was still in front of the aircraft's nose gear. The tractor driver was able to warn the pilots to stop on the radio frequency, and the pilots were able to stop the aircraft before impact.

In August, OTKES began an investigation  (External link)into a serious incident that occurred on a Norwegian flight from Rhodes to Helsinki on 11 August 2024. Two cabin crew members were injured when the aircraft encountered turbulent air flow. This incident does not appear in the statistics of this safety review, as it occurred outside Finnish territory and did not involve aviation organizations operating under a Finnish operating license.

Based on the current flight hour estimate for 2024, there would be approximately 4.8 serious incidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2024, compared to an average of 2.8 for 2014–2023. Thus, the number of serious incidents relative to traffic volumes was clearly higher than the long-term average.

Browse serious incidents starting from 2005 using an interactive and updating report here (External link). 

List of serious incidents 2024 (incl. foreign aircraft in Finland)

1. February 2024: During the initial climb, an electrical fire smell was detected in the cockpit and cabin. The crew decided to turn back to land at the departure airport.
2. February 2024: While a foreign airliner was on the apron, oil leaked from its engine, which the hot engine ignited. The engine was started and blew out the fire.
3. March 2024: Near-miss situation between a commercial aircraft and a drone abroad.
4. March 2024: Near miss between an airplane and a paraglider abroad.
5. April 2024: The engine of a commercial aircraft failed and the aircraft returned to the airport of departure for landing.
6. April 2024: The medical helicopter's blades hit the branches of a tree in the shadows during takeoff. The takeoff was aborted.
7. April 2024: A small airliner encountered severe turbulence while descending from cruising altitude. One of the passengers was not wearing a seatbelt and hit his head on the ceiling panels, sustaining minor injuries. The flight was diverted to the nearest airport.
8. May 2024: Smoke was observed in the cockpit and cabin of a commercial aircraft during taxiing. The crew decided to abort the flight and evacuate the passengers. The smoke was caused by a technical issue on one of the aircraft systems.
9. May 2024: Near-miss between a Finnish commercial aircraft and a foreign small aircraft during approach.
10. June 2024: Smoke was observed on a commercial aircraft during the enroute phase. The crew made an emergency landing at a nearby airport and the passengers were evacuated. The cause of the smoke was possibly an oil leak in the engine. The Italian SIA has launched an investigation into the incident.
11. July 2024: A foreign airliner started moving after a pushback, even though the pushback tractor was still in front of the aircraft's nose gear. The tractor driver managed to warn the pilots by radio frequency to stop, and the pilots were able to stop the plane before impact.
12. July 2024: The airliner's pressurization system failed and the crew had to put on oxygen masks. The backup system was activated and the system returned to operation.
13. July 2024: A near-miss between a Finnish commercial aircraft and a foreign drone abroad.
14. July 2024: A medical helicopter was enroute in uncontrolled airspace near Oulu when a small aircraft suddenly flew very close to the rear left of the helicopter, slightly above it. The helicopter pilot made an emergency avoidance maneuver to reduce the risk of collision. According to the pilot's report, the risk would have been reduced if the other aircraft had had a transponder on, which would have been visible in the helicopter's ACAS system. OTKES investigated the situation.
15. November 2024: A near-miss between a Finnish commercial aircraft and a foreign drone abroad.

16. November 2024: A commercial aircraft had to wait a long time for approach clearance due to other traffic at a foreign airport and fly several holding circles in the air. Eventually, the fuel became so low that the crew had to notify air traffic control of a fuel emergency, meaning the flight had to land immediately. After this, the aircraft was given priority over other traffic and was able to approach. After landing, it was determined that the aircraft had less than the minimum fuel level.