The efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have contributed to making air travel the safest mode of transportation. In 1947, when nine million travelled, 590 were killed in aircraft accidents; in 1993 the number of deaths was 936 out of the 1,200 million airline passengers.
In 1994, the Federal Aviation Administration banned the national airlines of nine countries from flying to the USA because of inadequate safety oversight. The list was compiled as a part of a worldwide administration safety survey of the 93 governments that had commercial airliner service to the United States. Six of the countries decided to lease US planes and crews and continue operation under the country name. Ghana, Zaire and Gambia dropped plans for air service. Teams were surveying 63 other countries, including major inspections of Russian and Chinese aviation operations. The assessments concentrated only on governments, not airlines. Four-member teams sent to each nation assessed whether the country had a civil aviation authority and whether it had the expertise and willingness to enforce safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization.