An Analysis Of Factors Affecting The Number Of Safety Incidents In Civil Aviation

Aviation is the youngest of the transport industries, yet despite its short history, it is considered one of the most important spheres of transport, both in terms of passenger and cargo transportation. Civil aviation is used by an increasing number of people, and the number of aircraft used by airlines around the world continues to grow. An inherent element that is a particularly important aspect of this mode of transportation is security. In civil aviation, there are numerous dangers associated with events occurring before the flight, during the flight, as well as those associated with the landing process. The events need to be controlled and their causes actively sought and ultimately prevented. The Polish Civil Aviation Authority, as part of the creation of the National Civil Aviation Safety Program, developed the National Safety Plan 2020-2023. The document covers threats identified in the Systemic, European, and National Areas. They are characterized and classified based on the materiality (significance) of the event. The aim of this article is to characterize and analyze selected factors (e.g. collisions with birds, helicopter events) that affect the number of safety incidents in civil aviation. The background of the study was the analysis and synthesis of the literature on the subject, while the main research method was the statistical analysis of historical data on aviation incidents.  The data provided in Poland's National Security Plan 2020-2023 were used to distinguish the factors associated with the threats present and synthetically evaluate their impact. The analyses made it possible to identify areas of particular safety risks and form the basis for further detailed research.