2024 was deadliest year for commercial aviation since 2018
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Despite a series of deadly crashes, airplane disasters remain extremely rare. This year has been the deadliest for aviation accidents since 2018 after a commercial aircraft smashed into a concrete wall on Sunday morning in South Korea, killing 179 out of 181 people on board.
![[A Jeju Air official (C) bows his head and apologises to the bereaved families of passengers of the Jeju Air passenger plane.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/30/15/SEI234551247.jpg)
The Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 plane collided with a barrier before erupting in flames at the Muan International Airport. The flight had departed from Bangkok, Thailand around 2 a.m. on Sunday. Only two people, who were both crew members, survived the catastrophe. An international group of investigators is now working to determine the cause of the deadly incident.
Passenger plane fatalities jumped this year after the Jeju Air crash and an Azerbaijan Airlines jet was downed on Christmas Day in Kazakhstan after it flew into Russian airspace. Thirty-eight out of 67 people on board died in the incident. In August, a regional commercial aircraft crashed in Brazil, killing all 62 people on the aircraft.
This year is the first time since 2018 that flight fatalities have exceeded 300 people. In 2023, flight fatalities hit a recent low of 120, the safest year in air travel since 2017, when 58 deaths were reported. In a statement following the Jeju Air crash, Boeing said it was in contact with the airline and stood by ready to support them.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and the crew,” the company said. Boeing is one of two major commercial airplane manufacturers, with the second being Airbus, the company’s European competitor. Boeing shares fell four percent in premarket trading on Monday.
