As 2024 is coming to an end, it has been a particularly deadly year for commercial aviation, with two fatal plane crashes involving Jeju Air and Azerbaijan Airlines.
On Sunday, December 29th, a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Jeju Air crashed in Seoul, resulting in the tragic deaths of 179 individuals, marking it as the deadliest air disaster to occur on South Korean soil. Prior to this, on December 25th, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 reportedly encountered “interference” mid-flight from Baku, Azerbaijan to Grozny, Russia, leading to a diverted route and subsequent crash.
According to data from Cirium, the death toll from plane crashes carrying passengers in 2024 has surged to 318 individuals due to these two disasters, making it the highest death toll in six years. In 2018, over 500 individuals lost their lives in aviation accidents.
Former head of the air crash investigation unit in the UAE and Hong Kong, Darren Straker, told Bloomberg that the recent spike in air disasters falls into an unpredictable range. He recommended that airline crew members undergo enhanced training to handle so-called abnormal events.
Compiled by Reuters, here is a list of the most severe aviation incidents in 2024:
– Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, an international flight from Bangkok to Seoul, crashed, resulting in the deaths of 175 passengers and 4 crew members, with only 2 crew members surviving.
– On August 11th, Voepass regional flight 2283 from Cascavel to São Paulo in Vinhedo, Brazil, crashed. Startling footage showed the ATR-72 turbo propeller aircraft encountering cold air, freefalling from the sky, resulting in the deaths of all 62 individuals on board.
– In another incident on December 22nd, a Piper PA-42-1000 small private plane carrying 10 individuals crashed into a store in the tourist city of Gramado in southern Brazil, with all occupants onboard perishing and 17 individuals on the ground sustaining injuries.
– On December 25th, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny ended in a crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, with 39 individuals losing their lives and 29 survivors.
– On July 24th, a Saurya Airlines CRJ-200 small passenger plane, crashed and caught fire en route from Kathmandu to Pokhara, resulting in 18 deaths onboard, with only the captain surviving.
– On June 10th, a military plane carrying Malawi Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima from Lilongwe to Mzuzu in Malawi crashed, leading to the deaths of all 9 individuals onboard, including former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri.
– On August 23rd, Thailand Flight Services’ domestic charter flight TFT209 from Suvarnabhumi to Trat crashed 100 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, with all 9 individuals aboard the Cessna Caravan C208B perishing.
– On May 19th, a Bell 212 helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and six other passengers and crew members crashed near the Azerbaijan border in the Varzeqan mountainous region, resulting in all onboard fatalities.
– On January 23rd, a Northwest Airlines plane carrying Rio Tinto mining company employees crashed near Fort Smith in the remote Northwest Territories of Canada, leading to the deaths of 4 passengers and 2 North Western Air Lease crew members, with only 1 passenger surviving.
– On January 2nd, a Japan Airlines plane collided with a small Japan Coast Guard aircraft on the runway at Tokyo Haneda Airport. As a result, all 379 individuals on board the JAL A350-941 flight survived, while 5 out of 6 crew members on the small plane perished.
– On May 21st, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER encountered severe turbulence en route from London to Singapore, causing passengers and crew to be tossed around the cabin. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Bangkok, resulting in the suspected heart attack-related death of one passenger and injuries to 30 others.