No of Crashes A320 vs 737

[CaptainSandL]

I think we all know that statistics can be used to backup whichever side of the argument that you are on. I am a 737 fan so let me address some of the concerns raised by the original post

The 737 has been flying for 39 years with over 5,000 built, since then 111 have been written off in flying accidents. (This excludes incidents such as hijack, sabotage, fire, collision etc). This is a greater time period and more aircraft built than all of the Airbus models put together, so inevitably, in absolute terms, more will have accidents.

When the A320 came on the scene in the late 1980’s, the 737 had been flying for almost 20 years; those of you who have flown a 20 year old airframe will understand the significance of that statement. The age of an aircraft has a huge affect on its chances of an accident. Firstly because of the increased chances of mechanical failures; but also because as aircraft are sold on, they are generally passed down the chain of airlines with large resources to those who have few. This can lead to problems with maintenance, crew quality (recruitment & training) and often airport facilities (small airfields without aids) and operating environment (eg night freight).

Year of Build, Series, Generation, Number Built, Written-off
1967-1988, 737-1/200, Originals, 1144 (23%), 98
1984-1997, 737-3/4/500, Classics, 1990 (40%), 23
1997+, 737-6/7/8/900, NG’s, 1800+ (37%), 0

This table shows the write-off rate for each of the three generations of 737. Notice that 80% of the w/o’s are from the oldest generation, even though they only make up 25% of the fleet. Also notice that, so far, none of the NG’s have been written-off.

To compare the 737’s with the A320 family is difficult, and in truth not comparing like with like. Only time will tell how the A320’s cope with 40 years of service.

S&L

Edited to make table more readable