The global airline industry had one major accident per every
3.1 million flights in 2015, a slightly higher rate than 2014 but well below
the average of the previous five years, according to the International Air
Transport Association.
Among commercial flights, fatalities dropped significantly
in 2015: Four turboprop aircraft resulted in 136 fatalities. From 2010 to 2014,
the global commercial aviation industry averaged 17.6 fatal accidents and 504
fatalities per year.
IATA's statistics included neither the
Germanwings Flight 9525 crash in the French Alps, caused by a suicidal copilot,
nor Russia's Metrojet Flight 9268, which disintegrated over Egypt because of
suspected terrorist activities, because they were "deliberate acts of
unlawful interference."