Air India Crash Makes 2025 the Deadliest Year for Air Travel in Decades

— The accident involving Air India Flight 171 has made 2025 one of the most fatal years for commercial aviation over the last ten years.

According to the airline, there were 242 individuals on board the Boeing 787 aircraft when it plunged into flames soon after departing from Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday. Given that it hit a populated neighborhood, this incident is expected to result in numerous casualties.

Worldwide, the total number of deaths in civil aviation amounted to over 460 in 2025, as reported by Jan-Arwed Richter, who founded Jacdec—a German consultancy specializing in monitoring aviation safety. According to their approach, the ten-year average for such incidents stands at approximately 284.

“Since there are over six months left in the year, this trend in fatal accidents might be worrisome if it continues,” Richter stated.

Commercial-aviation safety reached a
high-water mark
In 2023, industry associations claimed there had been no deadly accidents. However, since then, several prominent incidents have made news headlines.

In January, when American Airlines Group Inc.’s Flight 5342 was approaching Washington, it crashed into an Army helicopter, marking one of the most fatal civilian air accidents in the U.S. in recent years. Just under a month after this incident, a Delta Air Lines Inc. aircraft overturned during landing in Toronto.

Although nobody perished in the second incident, it sparked fresh doubts among passengers regarding the safety of air travel.

Thursday’s Air India crash is on track to become the
worst
a commercial airline tragedy since the incident involving MH17 in 2014. The Malaysia Airlines flight that was brought down over Ukraine resulted in the deaths of 298 individuals, as reported.
Aviation Safety Network
which monitors deadly accidents.

According to JacDEC’s statistics, the most fatal years for civil aviation over the last ten years occurred in 2018 and 2015, each recording over 500 deaths. This organization monitors planes that have a minimum of 19 seats or weigh at least 5.7 metric tons.

Richter warned that many of the recent incidents are still being investigated, the statistics fall within normal ranges, and aircraft accidents “typically occur entirely randomly without similarities between them.”

He pleaded with the media not to rush to judgments as investigators look into the reason behind the Air India crash.

“I want to highlight the broader perspective,” Richter stated. “Flying is still the most secure method for traveling between locations.”

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–With help from Allyson Versprille.