According to the US State Department, Malaysia has developed their civilian airline infrastructure along the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO is under the jurisdiction of the United Nations as the technical agency for aviation. This was done with the aid of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by way of the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, whose purpose is to bring about proper following of ICAO regulations for flight procedures, operations, and maintenance. The 2005 audit found Malaysia in full compliance with all regulations, and exceeded the global average in every category.
Forty three fatal air accidents have taken place in Malaysia since 1945. The vast majority of these accidents involved private aircraft, chartered flights and international carriers, including a handful of incidents involving military aircraft. Of the civilian crashes, hazards causing accidents were the potential for dense fog and inclement weather and the Malaysian topography.
Malaysia Airlines has a superior safety record, is considered a Five Star Airline by Skytrax, and holds the role of a regular carrier of the Kangaroo Route linking Australia to Europe. With this safety record, there have only been two fatal crashes in the history of the airline. The most recent was in 1995. The worst disaster for the airline was in 1977.
