2007: Safest Year to Fly Since 1963

Jan. 2, 2008
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GENEVA (Reuters) - Last year was one of the safest in more

than four decades to fly, with just 136 serious accidents
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occurring around the world, the Aircraft Crashes Record Office

(ACRO) said on Tuesday.

The private group, which documents air disasters worldwide,

said that 965 people died in 2007 in accidents involving planes

big enough to carry at least six passengers plus crew. That was

25 percent less than in 2006, and the lowest rate since 2004.

The total number of accidents causing severe damage to an

aircraft -- 136 -- was the smallest since 1963, making 2007

"one of the safest years since the last half century" for civil

aviation, the Geneva-based ACRO said in a statement.

The biggest accident last year was the July 17 crash of a

TAM Brasil flight in Sao Paolo, followed by a Kenya Airways

crash on May 5 and the crash off Ujung Pandang on January 1 of
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an Adam Air Indonesia flight, the group said.

It recorded 34 accidents in the United States, 10 in

Canada, 8 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 5 in Colombia

and 5 in Indonesia in 2007. The ACRO does not track minor

accidents or events involving helicopters, small jets, or

military aircraft.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Stephen Weeks)