2014 was a deadly year for aviation, but safety record is improving
Malaysian catastrophes got the headlines - and there were weather-related incidents - but there were also a record low number of crashes
The loss of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 would cap one of the deadliest years in civil aviation for almost a decade - yet experts say the industry's underlying safety record is improving.
The statistics underscore a year of tragic contrasts dominated by two Malaysian catastrophes and a handful of weather-related incidents, yet a record-low number of crashes.
Even before an Indonesia AirAsia Airbus 320 jet with 162 people on board went missing in bad weather on Sunday between the Indonesian city of Surabaya and Singapore, 762 people had lost their lives in seven fatal accidents this year.
If the Indonesian-registered aircraft is confirmed to have crashed killing all on board, the accident would make 2014 the worst year for loss of life in civil aviation since 2005, when 1,014 people were killed in passenger accidents, according to the Netherlands-based Aviation Safety Network.
"Remarkably, 2014 has the lowest number for passenger flight accidents in modern aviation history," said Harro Ranter, founder and director of Aviation Safety Network, which runs an independent database.
A combined total of 537 people were on board Malaysian Airlines' Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 and has not been found, and Flight MH17 which was shot down over Ukraine on July 17. More than 160 people lost their lives in two bad weather incidents in July. Forty-eight died when a Transasia Airways aircraft tried to land in Taiwan and 116 when a Swiftair jet operated by Air Algerie crashed in northern Mali.