You're reading a lot more into Interpols secretary-generals statement than what meant. What he was getting at, is that Interpol have a very good, up-to-date stolen passport database, with easy and immediate access - and very few countries are making use of it.
I'm fishing, if we believe the quotes, either he knowns more about the linkage between the passport miscreants and missing aircraft than he can say in public or he is in the dark and has seized the rare moment of international focus on his organisation to promote Interpol's database by saying passport checks will prevent airline crashes..
To put it in perspective, until we know that the passport miscreants took down the flight he should be saying that passport checks will help prevent people smuggling, criminal activities and drug smuggling, the never ending trail of human misery and death toll of which is probably comparable to an airliner crash, just not as newsworthy.