THE HEAD OF THE Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has declared a marked improvement in the country's air-safety record, after nearly 18 months without a major accident.
CAAC minister Chen Guangyi says that the country's airlines flew some 1.2 million hours without incident in the period.
The last recorded Chinese airliner accident was in June 1994, when a China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M crashed in Xian, killing all 160 aboard. The crash, China's worst ever, followed a series of disasters in 1993 and 1992 and led to a CAAC crackdown on safety.
Measures included a moratorium on any new Chinese airlines and on additional aircraft orders, until infrastructure and training had been improved. Restrictions are only now being selectively relaxed, with Sichuan Airlines the latest carrier to receive three new leased Airbus Industrie A320s.
New civil-aviation legislation is due to come into force in China from 1 March, strengthening the CAAC's regulatory powers.
The CAAC measures, however, show no sign of slowing industry growth. In 1995 Chinese airlines carried a record 51.1 million international and domestic passengers, up by 22.4% on the previous year. Air cargo and mail traffic increased by 27.6%, to 1 million tonnes.
Source: Flight International
