An Applied Statistical Study of Commercial Aircraft Safety: Comparative Analysis of Boeing and Airbus

Commercial aviation safety assessments often rely on raw accident statistics, which can lead to misleading conclusions when differences in operational exposure are not considered. This study presents an applied statistical analysis of commercial aircraft safety through a comparative evaluation of Boeing and Airbus aircraft using historical aviation accident data. Trend analysis, severity analysis, and statistical modeling were conducted to examine accident frequency and fatality patterns observed in the raw dataset. Initial analysis of unnormalized data indicates a higher number of recorded accidents for Boeing aircraft when compared to Airbus, reflecting differences in fleet size, flight volume, and years of operation rather than inherent safety characteristics. To address this imbalance, normalization techniques were applied to adjust accident counts based on operational exposure, specifically incorporating fleet size, flight volume, and duration of service. Statistical hypothesis testing using chi-square and Poisson-based models was employed to evaluate whether observed differences remain significant after normalization. The results demonstrate that when these exposure-related factors are jointly considered, both manufacturers exhibit comparable safety performance, with no statistically significant disparity in accident occurrence. This study highlights the importance of exposure-adjusted statistical frameworks for reliable aviation safety assessment and contributes to applied engineering research by promoting evidence-based evaluation over perception-driven conclusions.