AVIATION SAFETY REPORT: TAIL STRIKES, LANDING GEAR FAILURES AND RUNWAY EXCURSIONS AMONG MOST COMMON ACCIDENTS

by HEDNEWS on March 10, 2026

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that even as global aviation safety performance showed modest improvement in 2025, the most common aircraft accident types worldwide were tail strikes, landing gear incidents, runway excursions and ground damage, highlighting that many mishaps occur during take‑off, landing or ground handling.

According to IATA’s 2025 Annual Safety Report, commercial aviation recorded 51 accidents among about 38.7 million flights in 2025 slightly fewer than the 54 accidents recorded in 2024. Despite the reduction in total accidents, fatal accidents increased to eight in 2025 from seven a year earlier, and on‑board fatalities rose to 394 from 244 in 2024.

The favourable trend in accident rates such as the global all‑accident rate improving to 1.32 per million flights in 2025 from 1.42 in 2024 underscores aviation’s ongoing safety performance, even amid some higher severity events

IATA identified several recurring accident categories during 2025, notably:

Tail strikes where the rear of the aircraft contacts the runway during take‑off or landing.
Landing gear incidents involving failures or collapses of main or nose gear.
Runway excursions aircraft departing the runway surface during take‑off or landing.
Ground damage where aircraft sustain damage while taxiing or otherwise operating on the ground.

These incident types most often occur in critical phases of flight when aircraft are close to the ground, such as take‑off, touchdown or taxiing phases historically associated with elevated risk compared with cruise flight.

The report also highlighted marked differences across world regions:

Africa recorded the highest aviation accident rate globally in 2025, with seven accidents resulting in an all‑accident rate of 7.86 per million sectors, despite improvements from 12.13 the previous year.
Of accidents involving Africa‑based carriers, 71 % involved turboprop aircraft, reflecting specific operational challenges in the region.
The region also accounted for a large share of “other end state” cases incidents difficult to classify due to limited information, signalling a need for better compliance with global investigation standards.

In contrast, regions such as North Asia reported very low accident rates, with only one minor tail strike recorded in 2025.

Aviation safety analysts note that most accident types cited especially tail strikes and runway excursions typically occur during take‑off, landing and ground operations, which are among the most dynamic and demanding phases of flight. These operational environments place tight demands on pilots, aircraft systems and ground infrastructure. Overall, while the long‑term safety trend remains positive, the report’s findings on frequent accident types and regional disparities underscore areas where continued focus on training, infrastructure and compliance with international safety standards is essential

IATA’s safety report presents a mixed picture for 2025: fewer accidents overall, but higher fatalities and persistent vulnerabilities in specific accident categories particularly around take‑off, landing and ground handling phases. Aircraft operators, regulators and industry stakeholders are expected to use this data to refine safety protocols and further enhance global flight safety moving forward.