2024 becomes deadliest year in skies since 2018

Commercial aviation has suffered its deadliest year since 2018 after the

Jeju Air disaster

in South Korea and last week's downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. Onboard passenger plane fatalities this year jumped to 318 with the two recent crashes, data compiled by Cirium shows. That's by far the highest death toll since more than 500 people died in 2018, a year marked by the first of two Boeing Co. 737 Max crashes. It marks a reversal from 2023 - the safest year ever in aviation with no deaths among large passenger jetliners. Fatal aviation accidents remain very rare.

In Jan, a Japan Airlines jet collided with a coastguard plane at Tokyo airport. Everyone aboard the jetliner survived, but five people on the smaller aircraft were killed. In July, Nepal's Saurya Airlines crashed after taking off, killing 18. And in Aug dramatic footage of a plane operated by Brazilian airline VoePass captured its freefalling from the sky after encountering icy weather conditions. That accident killed 62. Global conflicts may also have contributed to this year's fatalities. The Azerbaijan Airlines jet had nearly completed a scheduled flight from the capital city of Baku to Grozny, Russia, on Dec. 25 when it was suddenly diverted across the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan's prez has said the plane was accidentally shot down by Russia.