With just a couple of days to go to 2015’s six-month point, global airline safety stats for the period are looking pretty good but – depending on how you interpret them – not as good as 2014 at the same point.

Before you decide how to interpret the accident/incident figures you have to make a decision on whether MH370 last year (missing Malaysia 777) and the Germanwings A320 crash this year were accidents or deliberate acts. They were certainly fatal.

Leaving both those events out, neither year has much left to declare in terms of conventional airline accidents. There were five fatal accidents in 2014 at this point, and there have been four in 2015 so far, but the accidents killed more people this year – if still a small number in historic terms.

Accidents, gratifyingly, continue to get fewer, but it is fascinating to see how the types of accidents are changing. If the industry is to continue getting better it has to understand what’s going on.

In the 28 July issue of Flight International I will still be responsible for the magazine’s customary global airline safety analysis at the half-year point. The figures will be complete, of course, and all the accident details will be listed and described.

Meanwhile there are two days to go between now and midnight 30 June. A lot can happen in that time.