Aircraft incidents on the decline since 2013: DGCA data

Aircraft incidents in the country have been coming down since 2013, according to data compiled by aviation regulator DGCA.

The number of such incidents per 10,000 departures stood at 4.8 this year till October-end, compared to 6.56 in 2017.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an incident is an occurrence, other than an accident or serious incident, associated with operation of aircraft that could have seriously affected safety of operations.

The incidents have been falling since 2013 when it stood at 11.79 per 10,000 departures. It declined to 11.63 in 2014 and then to 7.46 in 2015, the data showed.

In 2016, the same stood at 7.27.

"The average of the incident from year 2013 to 2018 is 8.25," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing domestic civil aviation markets and has registered double-digit growth for nearly 50 months continuously.

Meanwhile, the regulator said the average of the serious incidents is 0.11 for the period from 2013 to 2018.

According to the DGCA, accident rate in the Indian aviation sector is "well below the world average".

The accident rate per million departures is 1 this year till October-end.

According to the data, the count of breath analyser violations for every 10,000 departures stood at 2.01 this year till October, while it was at 2.46 last year.

Among others, cabin crew members and pilots have to undergo breath analyser test before operating a flight to check the level of alcohol, if any, in their blood.