For many, 2016 was a year of bad news, but flight safety experts have pointed out one positive: Flying is becoming increasingly safer.
Last year marked one of the safest on record for civil aviation, the Hamburg-based Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) and the Dutch Aviation Safety Network (ASN) said, citing preliminary data.
While the JACDEC counted 321 deaths worldwide in 2016, the ASN placed the figure at 325 using a different counting method based on figures correct as of December 29.
The worst aviation accident happened when Bolivian flight operator LaMia crashed in Medellin, Colombia. Seventy-one people died, including 19 members of the Brazilian Chapecoense football club. The crash in November was caused by a lack of fuel.
Out of around 350 million passenger, cargo, research and fire-fighting flights that took place in 2016, ASN noted just 19 fatal accidents.
