In 2025, a total of 418 people died in aviation accidents in civil aviation around the world, according to data published on Friday and cited by the German aviation association BDL, DPA reported.
According to statistics from the "Aviation Safety Network", the victims included 352 passengers, 33 crew members and 33 people on the ground. For comparison, in 2024, the number of deaths in civil aviation was 334 people, which means a clear increase on an annual basis, BTA pointed out.
However, the association emphasizes that in the long term, civil aviation continues to become safer. If related to the number of passengers carried, the risk of a person dying in a plane crash in 2025 is estimated at 1 in 11,459,330. In the 1970s, this risk was significantly higher - about 1 in 264,000. In individual years then, the number of victims exceeded 2,000 people with a much lower volume of air traffic.
According to data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in 2025 the number of passengers in global aviation reached about 4.7 billion people, which is more than a tenfold increase compared to the 1970s, when approximately 440 million people traveled annually.
The statistics cover crashes involving civil aircraft with a capacity of at least 14 seats. Accidents involving smaller aircraft are not included, as are crashes involving military aircraft.
The worst aviation disaster of 2025 occurred on June 12, when an "Boeing 787 Dreamliner" operated by the Indian airline "Air India" crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport. The incident killed 229 passengers and 12 crew members, with only one passenger surviving. Another 19 people lost their lives on the ground.
The investigation into the causes of the crash, including the sudden loss of thrust in both engines, is ongoing.