A cargo door blew off Turkish Airlines Flight 981 outside Paris in 1974 while the plane was in the air, causing cabin pressure to drop and eventually leading to a section of the cabin floor to collapse. The accident ultimately led to an industry-wide change in design limiting the possibility of depressurization.
(CNN) -- One of the key questions asked after any serious airline incident is: how do we stop this happening again?
Malaysia Airlines has already changed its cockpit regulations as a result of Flight 370's disappearance.
Many other incidents in the past have led to safer flying conditions for us today, as a result of improvements and changes to protocol, laws and technology in planes. Below we outline some of the most important ones.
These helped pave the way to making 2013 one of the safest years in aviation history according to the Aviation Safety Network, with only 29 known accidents worldwide, and 265 fatalities (the 10-year average is 720 fatalities per year).
1. Collision Avoidance Systems
Collision Avoidance Systems have been a priority in the aerospace industry since the inception of flight.
In 1956, a TWA jet crashed into a United Airlines flight above the Grand Canyon. The incident was the first of many that illustrated the need for increased communication between planes.
A few years later, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was formed to set guidelines for aviation in the United States, but still, issues remained.
Several other two-plane accidents -- including a 1996 collision near New Delhi that resulted in 349 casualties -- emphasized the need for advanced, anti-collision technology.
After a congressional ruling in 1991, the FAA implemented the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which monitors the airspace around an aircraft independent of air traffic control.
"TCAS really came about in the late '90s, and since then, I don't think we've really seen a collision between two airlines," notes Phil Seymour, president and COO of the International Bureau of Aviation, a consultancy that offers analysis and advice to the aviation industry.
Firemen examining the wreckage of a British Airtours 747 that burst into flames at Manchester Airport.
2. Roomier seats
Coach may seem pretty crammed these days, but according to Seymour, there's a limit to how much plane manufacturers are allowed to shave off the space around seats.
In fact, modern-day seat layout has been rigorously calculated to carry out the most effective evacuation.
This is in part thanks to research carried out by the Cranfield Institute after a 1985 incident, when a British Airtours 737 caught fire before take-off at Manchester International Airport.
An engine caught fire, and the flames spread quickly. Unfortunately, the lack of space between seats meant that bottle-necking occurred at the doors, and some passengers couldn't escape.
"The aisles became jammed with people panicking to exit, and there literally wasn't enough space between the seats," recalls Seymour.
"Now, there are limits in terms of the minimum space between seats as well as the distance to an emergency exit."
3. Weather radar
Severe weather has played a role in some crashes, Delta Airlines Flight 191, most notably, which crashed in 1985 while approaching Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in a thunderstorm.
"Rain is one thing, but if a pilot gets into wind shear, and the currents are there, it will literally just push your aircraft onto the ground. There have been some incidents where aircraft have crashed when making their final approach," says Seymour.
In 1981, the FAA required all turbine-powered commercial planes be installed with wind shear detection systems by 1993. Since then, the models have become increasingly sophisticated.
"A lot of the more advanced weather radar don't just detect bad weather, but predict wind shear. If a pilot sees wind shear coming, instead of landing, he can circle around the airport until it disappears."
The AF447 Rio-Paris plane flight black boxes are displayed during a press conference on May 12, 2011.
4. Manual training
It took two years for search parties to recover the black box from Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean en route to Paris from Rio.
On reviewing the recordings, the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyse (BEA) blamed pilot error, in particular an overdependence on the automated flight control system.
"The senior captain was on his break, and the aircraft was being piloted by two less experienced pilots," recalls Seymour. "Since then, Airbus and Boeing have both changed their operation procedures, and have put more focus on manual training," he adds.
In the wake of the incident, Air France also revamped its training procedures, and introduced a new "gatekeeper" position.
Gatekeepers are tasked with contacting the flight crew in the event of an incident and providing pilots with on-the-spot training, tools and advice.
5. Retiring old planes
The FAA addressed the issue of how long planes should fly in 1988 when they created the National Aging Aircraft Research program, which monitors the structural integrity of older planes.
The measure was a result of an Aloha Airlines accident. While flying at 24,000 feet, a large section of the roof blew off, leaving passengers flying in the open air.
The plane -- a Boeing 737 -- was 19 years old, and investigators blamed the incident on the plane's age-related wear and tear.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/11/travel/air-disaster-lessons/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
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