By David Learmount2020-12-31T15:29:00+00:00 Despite the sharp reduction in flying during 2020 because of travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, fatal losses for the last 12 months were just as high as in some recent years. Globally there were 12 fatal airline accidents in 2020, resulting in the deaths of 332 passengers and crew. This compares with 22 fatal accidents and 297 fatalities in 2019 when commercial airline activity was at a normal level – which means four or five times the number of flights that took place in 2020. The previous safest year for flying was in 2015, when there were nine fatal accidents and 176 fatalities. Among the four jet fatal accidents, three were the result of poorly-planned and badly-executed approaches in serviceable aircraft in conditions that should not have been a problem for the crews.