Steep Rise In Crash Deaths

Jan 20, 2003

More people died in airline accidents worldwide last year than at any time since 1996. Fatalities rose by 344 to 1,200.

The number of fatal plane crashes also increased, rising by seven to a total of 40.

Figures published today in Flight International's annual safety review show an abrupt halt in the six-year downward trend in fatal accident numbers.

The industry magazine said that the biggest killer involved controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) which accounted for nearly 50 percent of fatal accidents in 2002. None of the planes involved were fitted with warning systems which might have prevented the crash.

Flight International pinpoints the mid-air collision between a Russian Tupolev passenger jet and a DHL Boeing 757 cargo plane over Southern Germany as the biggest shock of the year, even though it did not account for the greatest number of deaths.

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