WASHINGTON — You’ve most likely flown aboard an Airbus A320, the kind of jet that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday with 150 people onboard.
It is one of the world’s most widely used aircraft, having embarked on more than 85 million flights worldwide, and has found a place on the tarmac of virtually every U.S. airline. Aircraft in the A320 family take off or land every 2.5 seconds, Airbus data show.
But the short-haul, single-aisle jet has also been at the center of a dozen fatal accidents since 1988, including in December, when an AirAsia jet crashed into the Java Sea, killing 162 passengers and crew members.
With the crash investigation just beginning, airline experts said the A320 was nonetheless an incredibly safe jet showing few causes for widespread alarm. For every million takeoffs, the A320 family has just 0.14 fatal accidents, a Boeing safety analysis found.
“In terms of accident rates, it’s one of the safest jets built,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert and vice president of aerospace consultancy Teal Group. “There are no reasons to question its record.”
The crashed jet, run by German airline Germanwings, Lufthansa’s low-cost carrier, from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, had flown 58,300 hours across 46,700 flights. It was delivered to Lufthansa from the production line in 1991. That makes it one of the older A320s but still within the average age of planes in service. The average A320 flown by Delta, for instance, is about 20 years old, airline data show.
Asked whether the airline would ground its A320s, Germanwings spokesman Thomas Winkelmann said the planes have a “fabulous service record” and there would be further investigation. The jet’s last major inspection was in 2013, although a regular check of the plane was conducted Monday, Germanwings officials said.
Airbus, which made its name on wide-body jets such as the A300, found worldwide success with the A320, which boosted the airline’s profile and increased competition for rival Boeing’s similar jet, the 737.
The twin-engine A320 is able to fit 150 passengers and efficiently reach long ranges.
“It’s extraordinarily popular and regarded as a reliable, safe aircraft, one that’s in service in every part of the world,” said Seth Kaplan, the managing partner for Airline Weekly. Nearly all major U.S. airlines fly them; the only notable exceptions are Southwest and Alaska Airlines, which use Boeing jets exclusively.
There was a time when budget airlines were seen as skimping on safety, particularly after a fatal crash involving ValuJet Airlines. But low-cost airlines now boast low accident rates and safety records very similar to larger legacy carriers, experts said.
It was Germanwings’ first crash since it started in 2002. Lufthansa has not recorded a passenger fatality since 1993.
“If our fears are confirmed,” Deutsche Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr tweeted, “this is a dark day for Lufthansa.”
