Air Cargo Safety

Recently, we heard sad news of a tragic crash with a UPS cargo plane in Alabama. A variety of cargo was onboard. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is investigating the crash to determine how it happened. For those businesses that ship air cargo, this type of news could sound a bit alarming. After all, your supply chain might depend on airfreight shipping. 

Crashes of air cargo planes are usually a rare occurrence. For example, the particulate airplane involved in this crash was an Airbus A300. According to Reuters, there have only been about 10 crashes since the existence of the model of the plane since 1974. Many air cargo carriers, including FedEx, DHL, UPS and others, have used this model of plane. And this particular plane flew on over 6,800 flights.

With all of that being said, crashes do occur from time to time. For example, a UPS cargo plan crashed in September 2010, although authorities found that a fire from the cargo caused that crash.

For shippers who are concerned about the safety of their air cargo, speaking to a trusted freight forwarder can help. They can provide shippers with good advice and shipping options. Shippers might also want to consider purchasing insurance in case something happened to their freight. Accidents can occur to any mode of transportation, and air cargo actually has a pretty good track record of making sure time-sensitive shipments reach their destinations. And air cargo shipping is also flexible to meet your changing needs for domestic and international freight.