World's safest aviation record falls

[knloregon]

Too bad---on a personal level, we morn the loss of life in the Henan Airlines crash near Yinchun, but it also ends a long run as the safest place in the world to fly---based on passenger miles. (last fatal crash---2004) Air travel in China more than tripled between 2000 and 2009, which makes the safety record even more exceptional----obviously, countries in rapid transition and development should be more vulnerable to mistakes. Which seems to be the case here. China Southern Airlines had identified this new airport (Lindu) as not yet developed enough to warrant service after dark, or daytime landings when conditions were marginal.