Despite the fact that plane crashes have been in the news quite often in recent months, 2016 is set to be one of the safest aviation years in history.
The statistics coming from the Aviation Safety Network have been widely published a day after the crash of LaMia Airlines near the Colombian city of Medellín that killed all 71 on board.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, which holds a database of all air travel incidents, 2016 had 16 fatal accidents, resulting in 272 deaths, 560 less than what was recorded in 2015, the Telegraph reports.
At the close of 2016, some 3.5 billion passengers would have taken to the skies, resulting in a very low percentage rate of accidents per number of travellers. With 30 days left in the 2016 calendar, it may rank to be the safest year for air travel on record, closely followed by 2015. As it appears, air travel has never been safer.
Safest years in aviation history | Number of Fatal Crashes | Total deaths
- 2013 – 29 fatal crashes; 265 deaths
- 2016* – 16 fatal crashes; 272 deaths
- 2012 – 24 fatal crashes; 476 deaths
- 2011 – 36 fatal crashes; 524 deaths
- 2004 – 36 fatal crashes; 543 deaths
- 2015 – 16 fatal crashes; 560 deaths
- 2008 – 33 fatal crashes; 588 deaths
- 1984 – 39 fatal crashes; 676 deaths
- 2003 – 33 fatal crashes; 703 deaths
- 1999 – 48 fatal crashes; 706 deaths
Safest years in aviation history | Deaths per total number of passengers flown
- 2016* – one per 12,867,647
- 2013 – one per 11,501,886
- 2015 – one per 6,144,642
- 2012 – one per 6,079,831
- 2011 – one per 5,318,702
- 2008 – one per 3,755,102
- 2004 – one per 3,478,821
- 2014 – one per 3,253,791
- 2009 – one per 2,960,526
- 2007 – one per 2,803,299
*January 1- November 30
