MONTREAL, CANADA — In 2022, there were 12 fatal accidents involving airlines around the world, resulting in 229 deaths.

Like 2021, the year 2022 saw only one major passenger jet crash, involving a China Eastern Airlines-operated Boeing 737-800. On March 21, the plane, which was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, crashed while on a flight from Kunming to Guangzhou, resulting in the deaths of all aboard.

The only other fatal accident involving a passenger plane with a capacity of more than 19 seats occurred on November 6, when a Precision Air ATR 42-500 crashed into Lake Victoria, Tanzania, while approaching Bukoba airport. In this incident, 17 passengers and two crew members lost their lives.


The remaining fatal accidents that occurred in 2022 involved smaller planes with either twin-engined turboprops or piston engines, as well as an Antonov An-12 freighter. In one of these accidents, eight crew members were killed when a Meridian-operated transport plane crashed in Greece while transporting weapons from Serbia to Bangladesh.

The number of accidents and fatalities in 2022 followed the trend of the previous two years, which were both impacted by the pandemic in terms of the overall number of passenger flights. In 2021, there were 15 deadly crashes and 134 fatalities, and in 2020, there were 12 fatal events and 332 deaths.