If you’re planning to fly on an unfamiliar foreign airline, you may be wondering how safe it is. Here’s how you can go about researching that kind of information…

The bad news is there’s no single agency that monitors the safety records of all airlines worldwide. But there are some resources out there.

If you’re traveling on a major international carrier, check with the International Air Transport Association, the global trade association for airlines. At least 190 of its 240 member airlines have passed the organization’s strict safety audit process.

However, IATA doesn’t offer membership to foreign airlines that fly only domestically, so it can’t tell you much about those carriers.

The U.S.-based Federal Aviation Administration has a list of countries whose aviation safety standards have not been certified by the International Civil Aviation Organization. That list is limited to countries whose airlines land in the U.S.

The European Union keeps a “blacklist” of airlines that it refuses to allow to land in the EU, based on safety assessments and other factors.

And you can check out the Web site AirDisaster.com, which keeps a database of air disasters dating back to 1950, and allows you to search specific airlines’ track records.

Find out more safety information in our Plane Crashes section.

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