Boeing 777 & Airbus A380 Top Safety Ratings

AirlineRatings.com, the world's first safety and product rating website, has cautioned travellers to steer clear of the LET410, Antonov AN-12, Ilyushin 76, Twin Otter and the CASA 212 aircraft, which have the worst crash records over the past 10 years.

The survey looked at 55 different aircraft in active service.

Editor Geoffrey Thomas said that AirlineRatings.com had examined only the records for the past 10 years because they were relevant to today's travellers.

"The crash rates of aircraft that dominated the 1970s but are no longer in passenger service are irrelevant today," he said. "We reviewed only aircraft that are still carrying passengers in 2013."

The survey used the Boeing accident database, which is an industry standard, and supplemented that with its records and those of Aviation-Safety.net and Ascend.

The AirlineRatings.com survey also ignores piston-powered planes and small aircraft used mainly for charter work.

"Clearly flying on pure jet-powered aircraft is far safer as seven out of the 10 worst aircraft are turboprops," Thomas said.

He said that while some aircraft such as the Twin Otter had a high crash rate, it did not mean it was a dangerous plane.

"The Twin Otter is actually a great aircraft but you have to look at which airline is operating them and how it's been operated and where it's being flown." Thomas said.

"Operating into mountainous regions in a Third World country with limited navigation aids can be dangerous."

Many aircraft built in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries have major safety problems, particularly with the reliability of engines, according to AirlineRatings.com.

"There are no Soviet-built aircraft flying for Chinese airlines and even in Russia the major carrier Aeroflot operates only a handful of the most modern type, the Ilyushin 96," Thomas said.

Many of the older Soviet designs are operated in African nations.

According to International Air Transport Association safety data, the continent of Africa has a crash rate per million departures that is 12 times worse than the world average for IATA member airlines.

In the safest aircraft stakes, the shining light is the Boeing 777, which has not had a fatality in its operational life that started in 1995.

And there are more than 1100 777s flying today.

Other aircraft with a fatality-free record include the Boeing 717, Airbus A380, Airbus A340 and the CRJ 700 regional jet.

All the aircraft with fatality-free records boast the latest in cockpit layout, automation and technology.