Travel: Rise in deaths from landing flights

A record 640 people were killed last year on aircraft coming in to land, according to Flight International magazine. But the numbers killed in flights last year were about the same as the average figure for the previous decade.

Flight said there were 51 fatal airline accidents in 1997 and these resulted in 1,306 deaths. This compares with an annual average of 49 fatal accidents and 1,243 deaths for the preceding decade. Special efforts have been made to reduce accidents involving aircraft coming in to land, which were often attributed to pilot error. Flight said: "Although small carriers and non-passenger operations tend ... to account for the majority of the ... accidents, major carriers are manifestly vulnerable."