Figures by group show 2018 was the deadliest year for aviation since 2014
PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Figures released Tuesday show 2018 was the deadliest year for aviation since 2014.
According to statistics released by the Aviation Safety Network, 562 people were killed in 19 accidents in 2018, which marks a sharp rise from 2017, when 59 people were killed in 14 flights, in a year that was deemed by ASN to be the safest year in aviation history.
In 2014, a year that was marked by the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 and the shootdown of a Malaysian Airlines plane, 990 people were killed.
The figures above include accidents and fatalities that involve suicide, sabotage, and hijackings.
Despite the big increase in fatalities, officials with ASN say 2018 still ranks as one of the top 10 safest years in aviation history. In figures provided by ASN, at least 1,000 people have died in airliner accidents, every year, from 1958 to 1980. The last year the world saw over 1,000 deaths related to airliner accidents was 2005.
On its website, the Aviation Safety Network describes itself as a Netherlands-based independent organization that covers accidents and safety issues with regards to airliners, military transport planes and corporate jets.
FOX 10 reported on this story from Phoenix.