Air transportation occurrences in 2020

The TSB gathers and uses transportation occurrence data during the course of its investigations to analyze safety deficiencies and identify risks in the Canadian air transportation system.

It should be noted that certain characteristics of the data constrain statistical analysis and identification of emerging trends. These include the small totals of accidents and incidents, the large variability in the data from year to year, and changes to regulations and definitions. The reader is cautioned to keep these limitations in mind when reading this summary to avoid drawing conclusions that cannot be supported by statistical analysis.

Throughout this document, there are instances where categories of occurrences sum to more than the total number of occurrences. For example, if a single occurrence involves an airplane and a glider, the occurrence count will increase by one in each aircraft category but the occurrence itself will be counted only once in the total of occurrences.

The 2020 data were collected according to the reporting requirements described in the Transportation Safety Board Regulations in force during that calendar year.

The statistics presented here reflect the TSB Aviation Safety Information System (ASIS) database at 9 April 2021. Since the occurrence data are constantly being updated in the live database, the statistics may change slightly over time.

Also, as many occurrences are limited to data gathering, information recorded on some occurrences may not have been verified.

COVID-19 impacts on civil aviation in Canada

In early 2020, a new coronavirus began to affect air passenger travel in China and Hong Kong. By mid-March, broad travel restrictions were in place in Canada and around the world in an effort to contain the virus. The impact on commercial aviation was immediate, widespread, and lasting, with air transportation activity in Canada being greatly reduced during most of 2020. In April of 2020, total aircraft movements at major airports^{Footnote 1} in Canada were roughly 75% fewer than in 2019. While domestic itinerant movements slowly resumed over the remainder of the year, total traffic continued to be greatly reduced. In January of 2021, total aircraft movements at major Canadian airports remained 30% fewer than in January of 2020.^{Footnote 2} Major Canadian airlines carried 797 000 passengers in January of 2021, which is 89% fewer than a year before.^{Footnote 3} Notably, Statistics Canada data for major airports indicate that itinerant (point-to-point) movements were down 41% in calendar year 2020 compared to 2019, but local movements (returning to where they took off) were down by only 20% for the same periods.^{Footnote 4} Unfortunately, data for small airports (without NAV CANADA towers or flight service stations) are no longer available from Statistics Canada.

Although passenger air carriers greatly reduced their activity during 2020, other sectors of the air transportation industry were less affected by COVID-19 restrictions. There is evidence that smaller aircraft continued to operate during much of 2020 at levels that were similar to 2019. Flight training units, aerial work, and air taxi operations, as well as recreational flying, were less affected than major airlines. Statistics Canada estimates of aviation fuel consumption^{Footnote 5} are revealing: compared with 2019, average monthly consumption of kerosene-type jet fuel in 2020 (April to November) fell by almost 75%. This is consistent with the activity decrease seen for large passenger aircraft. However, consumption of aviation gasoline— used in smaller, piston-powered aircraft—did not decrease (on average) for the same period.

The above patterns in civil aviation activity informs the discussion of accident and incident counts for 2020, which is presented below.

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Overview of accidents and fatalities

Accident counts

Air transportation occurrences are reportable to the TSB if they occur in Canada. They are also reportable outside of Canada if they involve Canadian-registered aircraft, and meet the criteria laid out in the TSB Regulations.^{Footnote 9}

In 2020, a total of 170 air transportation accidents were reported to the TSB (Table 1 and Figure 4). This number is 25% lower than the previous year’s total of 227 accidents and 32% below the average of 251 accidents reported in the prior 10 years, 2010 to 2019. Most (165) of the accidents in 2020 took place in Canada and involved Canadian-registered aircraft. Five accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft took place outside Canada, and no accidents in Canada involved foreign-registered aircraft. In general, the number of air transportation accidents has been decreasing in the last decade.

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There were 153 accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft (excluding ultralights) in 2020 (Table 2). This is below the 2019 count of 200 accidents, and some 30% below the average of 218 accidents in the preceding 10 years (2010 to 2019). If the 17 accidents involving ultralights are included in the count, there were 170 accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft in 2020.

Of the 170 air transportation accidents reported to the TSB in 2020, 133 (78%) involved fixed-wing, powered airplanes (other than ultralights) (Table 1), 16 (9%) involved helicopters, 17 (10%) involved ultralights, and 4 accidents (2%) involved other types of aircraft. In the 10 years from 2010 to 2019, the average proportion of accidents involving each of these 4 types of aircraft has remained fairly constant: airplanes have been involved in roughly 75% of reportable accidents each year, helicopters in about 12% of accidents, ultralights in about 10%, and other aircraft in about 3% of accidents each year.

Operator type

There were 54 accidents that involved commercially-operated aircraft in 2020 (Table 1). This is fewer than the 83 such accidents recorded in 2019, and 36% below the average of 85 accidents recorded in the 10 years 2010–2019.

Commercially-operated Canadian-registered airplanes were involved in 45 accidents in 2020 (Table 2 and Figure 5), and 4 of those involved operations under Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) Subpart 705, which certificates the operation of airliners. This is fewer than the 7 accidents involving Canadian-registered airliners in 2019, and below the average of 6 accidents per year recorded from 2010 to 2019. In 2020, the TSB opened formal investigations (A20Q0013, A20P0013, and A20C0107) into 3 of the 4 accidents in that year that involved airliners. All 3 are Class 3 investigations.^{Footnote 10} Two involved runway excursions and 1 involved abnormal runway contact.

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Also in 2020, there were 3 accidents involving Canadian-registered commuter airplanes operating under CARs Subpart 704 (Table 2), as well as 13 accidents involving air taxi operations (CARs Subpart 703)—10 involving airplanes and 3 involving helicopters. These 13 air taxi accidents are substantially fewer than the 26 seen in 2019, and far below the average of 31 accidents per year between 2010 and 2019. Flight training units operating under CARs Subpart 406 were involved in 20 accidents in 2020, all of which involved airplanes (as opposed to helicopters). On average for the period 2010 to 2019, flight training units reported about 19 airplane and 1 helicopter accidents per year.

Overall in 2020, 114 air transportation accidents involved non-commercial (i.e., private aircraft) operations (Table 1), compared to 143 in the preceding year. This is 28% below the annual average of 159 accidents from 2010 to 2019. Of the 114 total accidents in the non-commercial (private aircraft) operations category, 88 involved Canadian-registered airplanes (Table 2), and 2 of these 88 were operating under CARs Subpart 604 with a Private Operator Registration Document (PORD).

Most operators of non-commercial (private) aircraft are classified as recreational operators. Recreational operators are responsible for a significant amount of flying activity, and are involved in many accidents each year. In 2020, 109 accidents involved recreational operators (Table 1). This figure is down 18% from the previous year’s count, and 28% below the average (152) for the period 2010 to 2019.

In addition to commercial, private and recreational operations, 1 accident in 2020 involved a remotely-piloted aircraft system (RPAS), or “drone”, which was operated with a special flight operations certificate (SFOC) and was categorized as an ‘other’ operator type.

Province or territory

Ontario, with 39 reported accidents (all aircraft types, including ultralights), was the province with the largest number of reported accidents in 2020, as it was in the previous 3 years (Table 7; data not shown). Ontario also averaged more accidents per year (63) in the 2010–2019 period than any other province or territory, with Quebec having the second-largest average accident count (54) for the same period. British Columbia and Alberta also have high average accident counts compared with the remaining provinces and territories.

Altogether, 5 accidents that were reportable under TSB Regulations occurred outside Canada in 2020. These involved 3 airplanes, 1 helicopter and 1 ultralight.

The number of accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft (excluding ultralights) by province or territory (Table 8) is shown in Figure 6. There were 32 accidents reported in Ontario involving Canadian-registered aircraft in 2020, which is 39% below the average number (53) for the years 2010 to 2019. Saskatchewan was the only province to have an increase in the number of accidents in 2020, with 16 accidents during 2020 compared to 12 in 2019, a 33% increase.

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Fatal accidents, fatalities, and serious injuries

The TSB recorded 12 fatal air transportation accidents involving 16 fatalities in 2020 (tables 1 and 4, and Figure 7). This is down considerably from 33 fatal accidents involving 70 fatalities in 2019, and is less than the corresponding averages of 30 fatal accidents involving 52 fatalities over the ten years 2010 to 2019. Of the 12 fatal accidents in 2020, 7 involved fixed-wing, powered airplanes, 2 involved helicopters, and 3 involved ultralight aircraft. All of these occurrences involved Canadian-registered aircraft operating inside Canadian airspace. There were no fatal accidents in Canada during 2020 that involved foreign-registered aircraft.

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Two of the 16 air transportation fatalities in 2020 involved commercial operations (Table 4): 1 of them under air taxi regulations (CARs 703), and 1 under aerial work (CARs 702). There were no fatalities involving airliner operations (CARs 705), commuter operations (CARs 704), or flight training operations (CARs 406) in 2020. The remaining 14 (of 16) fatalities in 2020 were linked to privately registered aircraft and involved recreational operators, with none involving an operator holding a PORD (CARs 604).

With regards to type of aircraft, 11 of 16 fatalities in 2020 resulted from accidents in fixed-wing powered airplanes (Table 4). Helicopter accidents resulted in 2 fatalities, and ultralight accidents accounted for the remaining 3. Of the 16 total fatalities, 11 were crew members and 5 were aircraft passengers. There were no fatalities among persons on the ground in 2020.

Overall, 17 persons received serious injuries in aircraft accidents in 2020 (Table 5), which is considerably fewer than the 31 persons seriously injured in 2019, and 48% below the average of 33 in the period 2010 to 2019. Only 3 persons received serious injuries in accidents involving commercial operations in 2020: 1 in a commuter aircraft (CARs 704), 1 in aerial work operations (CARs 702), and 1 with a flight-training unit (CARs 406). Also in 2020, 13 persons incurred serious injuries in recreational operations, and 1 person sustained serious injuries in a state-operated aircraft.

Accident rate

Accident rate as a key safety indicator

A key indicator of air transportation safety is the aircraft accident rate, which is calculated as the number of accidents per hours flown or per number of movements (a movement can be a takeoff or a landing). Analyzing trends of accident rates for different types of operators can signal emerging safety issues associated with specific operator types and activities.

Activity data (e.g., flight hours) broken out by operator type^{Footnote 11} are required to calculate accident rates that enable trend analysis of specific operator types over time, or support comparisons across operator types or geographical regions.

Until 2010, Transport Canada provided activity data broken out by operator type, and the TSB used these data to calculate and publish accident rates across operator types. Since 2010, however, Transport Canada no longer provides hours-flown activity data breakouts by operator type, because it had concerns regarding the accuracy of those data, which, for some operators that operated under more than one subpart of the CARs, were collectively reported only under the most restrictive CARs subpart.

Reporting all hours for all subparts under a single total conflates and confounds airline and commuter activity, as well as the activity of many smaller air operators that carry out operations under multiple subparts of the CARs (commuter, air taxi, and/or aerial work) and report their activity as a single total. Furthermore, movement data as presently reported by Statistics Canada^{Footnote 12} come from a survey that covers all aircraft movements at major Canadian airports with NAV CANADA air traffic control towers and flight service stations, but as of April 2020, Statistics Canada no longer collects data about movements at small airports without towers or flight service stations, and so activity at smaller airports is not reflected in the data.

Because hours-flown and movement data are currently not categorized by CARs subpart when collected by the Canadian government, there is no differentiation between sectors (e.g., air-taxi operators versus airline operators) or between different types of aircraft (airplane, helicopter, floatplane). Therefore, accident rates cannot be calculated for individual sectors of the industry.

Without hours-flown and movement data that are categorized by CARs subpart and aircraft type, it will be more difficult for sector stakeholders to assess risks and determine if mitigation strategies being carried out to improve safety are actually working.

Therefore, in 2019 the Board recommended that

Accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft, in Canada and abroad, per 100 000 hours flown

Overall accident rate

Transport Canada collects information about the number of hours flown by Canadian-registered aircraft. The 2020 overall air transportation accident rate of 5.8 per 100 000 hours flown (Table 3) was calculated based on the 149 accidents (24% below 2019) in Canada and abroad involving Canadian-registered airplanes and helicopters (ultralights and other aircraft types are excluded), and the estimated 2 550 000 hours flown by Canadian-registered aircraft (48% below 2019).^{Footnote 13} This rate is above the 2019 rate of 4.0 accidents per 100 000 flight hours, and 24% above the average rate of 4.7 accidents per 100 000 hours flown each year over the previous 10 years. While the number of hours flown decreased by almost half in 2020 compared to 2019, the number of reported accidents decreased by a lesser amount – around 25%. Taken together this means the accident rate statistic went up.

Despite the upward jump in accident rate in 2020, it remains statistically plausible that the accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft has been trending generally downward over the past 11 years. The accident rate has fallen from about 6 accidents per 100 000 hours flown in 2010 to 4 in 2019, a reduction of 33%, before rising again to 5.8 during 2020. Kendall’s tau-b (τ_b) correlation and Sen’s estimate of slope were used to quantify the trend in Canadian-registered aircraft accident rate and fatal accident rate. Kendall's τ_b correlation coefficient is a nonparametric measure of the strength and direction of association that exists between two variables. Kendall’s τ_b was calculated on the 11-year series of accident rate values by year from 2010 to 2020. There was a moderate, negative correlation that indicates a downward trend in accident rate per 100 000 hours flown over the period (τ_b = −0.5273, p = 0.0240). Sen’s estimate of slope, the amount of downward rate change per year, was −0.192 occurrences per 100 000 hours flown per year. A graphical illustration is presented in Figure 8.

Fatal accidents

Figure 8 also illustrates a trend line for fatal accidents. For the 12 fatal accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft in 2020, the fatal accident rate was 0.4 per 100 000 hours flown. That rate is down from the 2019 rate of 0.5, and is below the 2010 to 2019 average of 0.5 fatal accidents per 100 000 hours flown. Although there is a downward trend to the series of fatal accident rates since 2010 (Kendall’s τ_b = −0.6000, p = 0.0102), the slope of the trend is quite small: Sen’s estimate of slope is −0.037 fatal accidents per 100 000 hours flown per year.

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Fatalities

In 2020, 13 fatalities resulted from accidents involving Canadian-registered airplanes and helicopters (excluding ultralights), yielding a rate of 0.5 fatalities per 100 000 hours flown. This fatality rate is substantially lower than the 2019 rate of 1.1, and below the average yearly rate of 1.0 from 2010 to 2019. Like the accident rate and fatal accident rate, the fatality rate per 100 000 hours flown has shown a downward trend since 2010 (Kendall’s τ_b = −0.5636, p = 0.0158). The rate of change (Sen’s estimate) is −0.096 fatalities per 100 000 hours flown per year.

Accident rate per 100 000 aircraft movements in Canada, for Canadian and foreign-registered aircraft

Although data describing the number of aircraft movements at major airports are published by Statistics Canada, in 2020 data about activity at small airports in Canada were no longer published or made available to the TSB. Without a complete picture to describe aircraft movements in Canada, the TSB cannot state an overall accident rate per 100 000 aircraft movements in Canada. As discussed in TSB Recommendation A19-05 (see above), and without movement data that are categorized by CARs subpart and aircraft type, it will be difficult for sector stakeholders to assess risks and determine if mitigation strategies being carried out to improve safety are actually working.

Dangerous goods released

Only 1 accident in 2020 was reported to involve a release of dangerous goods (Table 1). This is lower than the numbers for the preceding several years, and below the average of 4.6 per year over the previous 10 years.

Accident events and phases

For each reported accident, the TSB records 1 or more safety-significant events that occurred, and the phase of flight for each of these events. For example, if an airplane suffers engine power loss during takeoff (safety-significant event 1), and then returns to land and has a runway excursion during landing (safety-significant event 2), each of the two events and their phase of flight will be recorded for statistical purposes. Tables 11 through 14 show, by phase of flight, how many accidents occurred for each event type, from 2010 to 2020. Note that if a single accident involves more than one event within a phase of flight, that accident is only counted once in the phase total. Therefore, the total number of accidents for each event within a phase will not necessarily sum to the total number of accidents for a phase. For example, in the "takeoff" phase, if an accident involves both "loss of control" and "power loss" events, the accident is counted once in each event category within the phase, but only once in the overall phase total. As well, approximately 30% of accidents from 2010 to 2020 involved events in more than a single phase of flight, so the number of accidents shown in the tables, and in figures 9 and 10, sum to more than the total number of accidents.

Figures 9 and 10 show the number of airplane and helicopter accidents by phase of flight and event category. Over the past 11 years (2010 to 2020), the distribution of airplane accidents (Figure 9) shows more accidents having events during the landing phase (56% of airplane accidents) or takeoff phase (24%) than in other phases of flight. Helicopter accidents (Figure 10) had events occurring more often during the landing (43%), manoeuvering^{Footnote 14} (24%), and en route (20%) phases of flight. Note that for airplanes, although the landing phase is associated with the largest number of accidents, the en route, takeoff, and approach phases are associated with larger numbers of fatal accidents, and manoeuvering with the largest proportion of fatal accidents. Similarly, for helicopters, the en route and manoeuvering phases are linked to more fatal accidents than are the approach and landing phases.

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Overview of incidents

Incident counts

In 2020, 420 air transportation incidents were reported under the TSB Regulations (Table 9). This represents a decrease of 54% from the 915 that were reported in 2019, and is 47% below the average of 790 incidents per year between 2010 and 2019. The apparent increase in incidents between 2015 and 2019 is partly explained by the introduction of new regulations that became effective July 1, 2014. Under these reporting requirements, air transportation incidents to be reported to the TSB were expanded to include aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight greater than 2250 kg (formerly 5700 kg) and aircraft being operated under an air operator certificate issued under CARs Part VII—Commercial Air Services. However, because of 2020 travel restrictions, these same commercially-operated aircraft were the most likely to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused general reductions in flying activity on the part of most operators. Therefore it is logical that the number of reported incidents would show a greater percentage decline compared to the number of accidents (discussed earlier).

Overall, 2020 reversed the previous trend of reported incidents gradually increasing from 2014 through 2019. While declared emergency is still the largest category of incident in 2020 (Figure 11), it should be noted that this category is somewhat a catch-all category for incidents where an emergency is declared and no other primary category (as set out in the TSB Regulations) applies. Risk of collision / loss of separation (ROC/LOS) incidents decreased in proportion from a peak of 18% of all incidents in 2017 to just over 11% of incidents in 2020. Incidents involving engine failure remained steady in 2020 at about 12% of all incidents, as has been the case since 2015. Amongst the 24% of ‘other’ incident types, crew were reported to have been unable to perform their duties 34 times, or in 8% of all reportable incidents in the year. This category includes both flight crew and cabin crew.

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The majority of air transportation incidents in 2020 (318) occurred in Canada and involved Canadian-registered aircraft (Table 1). However, 66 incidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft occurred outside Canada in 2020. While this count is lower than the 181 such incidents in 2019, the trend over the previous five years saw a sharp increase to a peak of 181 in 2017 and again in 2019, and contrasts with an average of 97 per year in the previous 10 years (2010 to 2019). Declared emergency and risk of collision/loss of separation (ROC/LOS) were the two most common incident types involving Canadian-registered aircraft outside of Canada. Both of these incident types, while not showing a straight-line trend over the 11-year period of this report, have increased in frequency in a statistically significant manner in the 5 years leading up to 2020. The TSB will continue to monitor these trends moving forward. The increase in reportable incidents generally is at least partially linked to improvements in reporting culture in the airline industry, and the adoption of safety management systems by many smaller commercial operators (in addition to all of the major Canadian airlines), and the increased use of electronic flight bags and portable devices, both of which make it easier for pilots to report incidents.

In part due to reporting requirements laid out in the TSB Regulations, commercial operations were the source of 93% of the incidents reported to the TSB in 2020 (Table 9). More than half (56%) of these involved Canadian-registered airliners operating under CARs Subpart 705 (airline operations). There were 219 incidents reported in 2020 involving Canadian-registered airliners, down from a peak of 614 in 2017, and 55% fewer than the average of 491 incidents per year 2010 to 2019.

Foreign air operators (CARs 701) were involved in just 32 incidents in 2020, or about 8% of all commercial incidents. This is fewer than the 86 incidents recorded in 2019, and was largely because of the reduced transborder and international passenger traffic brought about by COVID-19 restrictions.

Data tables