Plane crashes killed 334 people in 2024 worldwide, according to preliminary data from the German Air Traffic Industry Association (BDL), German news agency (dpa) reported.
The fatalities included passengers, crew and seven people on the ground.
In comparison, only 80 deaths were reported in 2023, the second lowest number since 1970.
The BDL statistics cover accidents involving aircraft with at least 14 seats. Incidents involving smaller aircraft and military flights are excluded from the report.
Although the number of aviation fatalities hit a record low in 2017, there has been an increase in the following years, the association said.
However, long-term data shows significant safety improvements.
“The aviation industry was about 53 times safer last year (2024) than in the 1970s,” said BDL Managing Director Joachim Lang.
In 2024, 17 accidents involving passenger and cargo aircraft were investigated, the association said.
The deadliest accident occurred on December 29 when a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air crashed while landing at Muan Airport in South Korea. The crash killed 179 passengers and two crew members survived. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident.
According to projections by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), about 4.7 billion passengers will fly worldwide in 2024, more than 10 times the average since the 1970s, when only 440 million people flew annually.
In other words, civil aviation is still the safest mode of transportation.
