Bad Year for Crashes But Flying Remains Extremely Safe

As bodies are being retrieved from an AirAsia flight that went down this week near the coast of Borneo, 2014 comes to a close as one of the deadliest in a decade in terms of flying.

Twenty-two crashes this year have led to 922 deaths; the highest since 2005. Major incidents include two Malayasian Air flights — one downed by Ukranian separatists — an Air Algerie accident, and the AirAsia flight. The remainder of crashes did not involve passenger airlines.

While the numbers are grim, airline safety continues to improve thanks to technology; flying on commercial planes is safer than ever. The eight passenger incidents this year is the lowest since modern aviation took off after World War II. The chances of perishing on a commercial airline flight are very slim: one in 4.7 million, according to PlaneCrashInfo.com.

Meanwhile, car accidents claim many more lives; 32,719 people perished in vehicular accidents just in the U.S. last year.