More airline passenger deaths were due to deliberate acts than from accidents for the second successive year in 2015, an aviation report says.
Flightglobal said there were eight accidental crashes last year, claiming the lives of 161 passengers and crew, the lowest number of fatalities for at least 69 years.
In contrast, a total of 374 people were killed when a Germanwings pilot deliberately flew his aircraft into a mountain in the French Alps last March and a bomb brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt in October.
In 2014, 537 people died – or are presumed dead – following the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines’ flight over Ukraine and the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
"In recent years, airline safety has improved very considerably to the point where, typically, there are now very few fatal accidents and fatalities in a year," said Paul Hayes, Flightglobal’s director of air safety and insurance. "However, flight security remains a concern."
