Berlin, Jan 6 : Global air crash fatalities rose sharply in 2024, with 334 lives lost in civil aviation accidents, German media reported on Monday, citing the preliminary data released by the German Aviation Association (BDL).

The fatalities included passengers, crew members, and seven individuals on the ground, it said. This figure marks a significant increase, more than quadrupling the 80 deaths recorded in 2023.

The statistics account for accidents involving aircraft with a seating capacity of at least 14 passengers. Data for smaller aircraft incidents were not immediately available, and accidents involving military aircraft were excluded from the report.

While the BDL reported a rise in air accidents since reaching a record low in 2017, it said that aviation safety has made great progress over the decades, and long-term trends still point to a steady decline in accident rates. "Flying was approximately 53 times safer last year compared to the 1970s," said BDL Managing Director Joachim Lang, Xinhua news agency reported.

The most catastrophic air tragedy of 2024 occurred on December 29, when a Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korea's Jeju Air crashed during landing. The crash claimed 179 passenger lives. Investigations into the cause of the accident are ongoing.

Earlier in the day, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) stated that fatal light aircraft crashes claimed 27 lives in 20 unnecessary accidents last year in Australia after two consecutive years of recording 33 deaths.

Despite the decrease in the number of fatalities, the spate of fatal crashes in 2024 caused concern about the future of the hobby aircraft sector, and aviation experts are calling for more thorough investigations into recreational aircraft accidents, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday.

Aviation consultant and training officer Lorraine MacGillivray said she wanted to see more air crash investigations and less red tape for pilot training following the death of five people in a string of crashes in the state of Victoria between September and November last year, the ABC reported.

However, large passenger carriers received priority when determining what was investigated, said the ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell, adding the risk of a fatality was greater around Australia's 2,300 non-towered aerodromes, calling for pilots to remain vigilant to boost safety.

The ATSB said it could investigate around 70 aviation, maritime, and rail incidents annually, but was notified of more than 8,000 incidents each year, Xinhua news agency reported.

/IANS