FSF: Rising Risk in Mixed-Use Airspace at Busy Airports

ALEXANDRIA — Flight Safety Foundation frames 2025 as a year in which accidents fell, but consequences didn’t necessarily, and where system stress (airspace complexity, staffing, interoperability) became the headline risk.

The FSF is an independent, international non-profit organization established in 1947, dedicated to improving global aviation safety. It is widely respected for providing impartial safety guidance, data analysis, and technical expertise to over 1,000 members across 150 countries.

The report states the following:

"While international airliner accidents declined in 2025 from the previous year, a dozen fatal accidents resulted in more than 400 fatalities among passengers and crew and another 33 people on the ground, according to the Foundation's Aviation Safety Network (ASN). In particular, the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision of a PSA Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport highlighted the risk inherent in busy, mixed-use airspace."

FSF’s Three System-level Priorities

The report calls for urgent coordinated action to:

1. Reduce risk in mixed-use terminal airspace (civil–mil coordination, deconfliction standards, interoperability, treating recurring proximity events as actionable risk).
2. Strengthen system capacity/resilience (ATM modernization, staffing/training throughput, surveillance/comms upgrades).
3. Reinforce the global learning cycle (disciplined compliance, mature SMS, timely/transparent investigation and reporting).

Key Takeaways

1. Commercial airliners: fewer accidents, more fatalities

• 101 airliner accidents in 2025 (down 28% from 140 in 2024).
• Fatal accidents: 12 in 2025 vs 15 in 2024.
• Fatalities jumped: 420 passengers/crew + 33 on the ground in 2025 vs 268 passengers/crew + 3 on the ground in 2024.
• Context: FSF notes 2025’s total accident count is better than the 2020–2024 average (110.2/yr), while fatal accidents averaged 11.8/yr in that period.

2. What drove accidents in 2025: turbulence still leads, runway events remain persistent

• Turbulence accidents: 26 in 2025, down from 35 in 2024—yet turbulence remains the most common ICAO occurrence category for the fourth year running.
• Other frequent categories in 2025: runway excursions (14), abnormal runway contact (10), ground collisions (7).
• Loss of control–in flight (LOC-I) increased to 6 in 2025, and 5 were fatal—a notable reversal after two years of improvement.
• FSF also flags midair collision–related accidents (4) in 2025 (only two were actual collisions), including injury-causing TCAS-driven maneuvers that qualify as accidents under ICAO definitions.

3. Lithium-ion battery thermal runaway events are rising fast

• 101 lithium-ion thermal runaway events in 2025 vs 83 in 2024, including what is believed to be the first passenger aircraft hull-loss accident linked to such an event.
• Devices linked in 2025: power banks (34); e-cigarettes/vapes (23); cell phones (23). Most events were reported in the United States (60), and most occurred en route (74).

4. Corporate jets: 2025 was a rough year for fatal outcomes

• 34 corporate jet accidents in 2025 (up from 28 in 2024).
• 13 were fatal, resulting in 57 passenger/crew fatalities + 4 on the ground.
• Runway excursions remain the most common category: 12 in 2025, 4 fatal.

5. The “learning loop” is still lagging

FSF emphasizes ICAO Annex 13–aligned investigations and timely public reporting, noting final reports were released for only ~58% of airline accidents (2020–2024) and ~41% of fatal accidents in that period.