Aircraft deaths drop 25% from ’06

Last year was one of the safest in more than four decades to fly, with just 136 serious accidents occurring around the world, the Aircraft Crashes Record Office said.

The private group, which documents air disasters worldwide, said 965 people died in 2007 in accidents involving planes big enough to carry at least six passengers plus crew. That was 25% less than in 2006 and the lowest rate since 2004.

The biggest accident last year was the July 17 crash of a TAM Brasil flight in Sao Paolo, Brazil, followed by a Kenya Airways crash May 5 and the crash off Ujung Pandang on Jan. 1 of an Adam Air Indonesia flight, the Geneva-based group said.