December Was Civil Aviation's Deadliest Month In 2024

December Was Civil Aviation's Deadliest Month In 2024

By Thomas Boon - Managing Editor | Simple Flying

According to data from the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), this month has become the deadliest for civil aviation this year, following two major crashes. So far, 382 fatalities have been recorded for the year.

Air travel is the safest form of transport, with the 5-year average number of accidents dropping from 51.8 in 1996 to 13.4 in 2023, according to ASN's data. When accidents occur, significant resources are poured into finding the cause to ensure they don't happen again. This is why the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded after two similar devastating crashes. While the Boeing 737 MAX was involved in a high-profile door blowout this year , no fatalities were recorded in that incident.

382 fatalities this year

At the time of writing, there have been 382 fatalities recorded from 34 fatal accidents this year. This gives an average of 11 fatalities per accident. However, 59% of all of 2024's fatalities have occurred within December, with 38 attributed to the Christmas Day Azerbaijan Airlines crash , and a further 179 attributed to yesterday's Jeju Air crash .

Data: Aviation Safety Network | Graph: Simple Flying


August was the second-highest month, with 76 fatalities recorded. This was primarily driven by a single crash with 62 fatalities. No fatal accidents were recorded in June or September.



A deadly December for aviation

Going into December 2024 was on track to be a fairly fatality-free year in civil aviation. However, five fatal accidents so far have changed that. Alongside the two high-profile crashes of the last week, there were three more minor crashes as follows, per the Aviation Safety Network,




One other commercial aviation catastrophe

Alongside the two incidents this week, there was one other scheduled commercial flight that saw a significant number of fatalities this year. That was Voepass Linhas Aéreas flight PTB2283 on August 9th. 62 lives were lost in this accident, which saw no survivors. The aircraft appeared to enter into a spin before plummeting into a residential area near its destination in Sao Paulo.


A lucky escape in January

While 2024 is the deadliest year in aviation since 2024, it could have been a whole lot worse. The year started off with the total destruction of a Japan Airlines Airbus A350. The aircraft landed on a runway that was also occupied by a Japanese Coast Guard Dash 8. Remarkably, all 379 onboard the Airbus A350 successfully exited the aircraft and survived. Of the 6 people onboard the Dash 8, only one survived.


How does 2024 compare to 2023

As mentioned, 2024 has seen 34 fatal accidentsaccidents, but only a handful involved large commercial aircraft. Many involved smaller propeller planes and private jets. According to the Aviation Safety Network 2023 Global Accident Report, there were 120 fatalities in 2023, fewer than the single accident yesterday.

72 died when a Yeti Airlines plane crashed in January 2023. Photo: Nicolas Economou | Shutterstock

The most deadly incident in 2023 was the crash of an ATR 72-500 in Nepal in January , where 72 lives were lost. There were only three other incidents with double-digit fatalities in 2023.




Olivia Spencer

Aviation B2B copy and content writer. Whether you have widgets or events I will deliver dynamic Case Studies and White Papers. Let's raise your profile, your sales and your profits... the sky is truly the limit.

1w

Still the safest form of transport.

Like
Reply
SB Rahman

SB. Rahman Hollywoodmarine.com

1w

Very informative is Aviation's deadliest December 2024. Occurrence investigations are carried out in order to: Better understand the events leading up to the occurrence; Identify hazards and conduct risk assessments; Make recommendations to reduce or eliminate unacceptable risks. The objective of safety management in the aviation industry is to prevent human injury or loss of life, and to avoid damage to the environment and to property.

To view or add a comment, sign in

More articles by Simple Flying

Explore topics