A Run of Fatal Airline Crashes Upends Sterling Safety Record

A spate of deadly airline crashes has tarnished the industry’s sterling track record, fraying the nerves of travelers and prompting questions about how the world’s safest form of transportation can respond.

The tragedies began on Christmas Day when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Days later, an aircraft operated by Jeju Air Co. skidded down a runway in South Korea and smashed into a concrete wall, causing 179 deaths. The two accidents turned 2024 into the deadliest year in commercial aviation since 2018, after no fatalities at all on large passenger jetliners in 2023.

Forensic investigators inspect the wreckage of Jeju Air Co. Flight 2216 at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea.

Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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