2014 – The year of air crashes with over 700 dead

#MH370 #MH17 #Ukraine #KualaLumpur 2014 was probably the worst year for civil aviation because there have been four major crashes reported in the year entailing loss of hundreds of lives. As per reports, the reason for the crashes are different but the fact remains that over 700 lives were lost in the span of 138 days in air crashes. Obviously, air travelers will become worried about the global aviation safety net and may be wondering if, statistically at least, the skies are getting more dangerous.
But – they do not have any alternative as such because, if they decide not to fly, the world would collapse around them and they would have to go back to ancient days of animal drawn carriages. Therefore, come what may, they take-off praying for a safe landing at their destination.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 – this happened on 8th of March when the Boeing 777-200ER took off from Kuala Lumpur on a regular flight to Beijing. It had on board 227 passengers and 12 crew members from many countries – mostly from China. The plane suddenly lost contact with the ground and has not been heard of from that day. It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean but extensive search operations have failed to locate the crash site or the debris.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 – this happened on 17th July – this Boeing 777-200ER flight was shot down by unknown elements as it was flying over Ukraine while on a regular flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board perished and the debris was scattered over an area of several square kilometers. Some of the bodies have not yet been accounted for.
TransAsia Airways Flight 222 – this crash was on 23rd July in Taiwan. The aircraft was ATR 72-500 and number of people killed was 54 passengers and four crew members – only 10 of them survived. This also was due to bad weather.
Air Algerie Flight 5017 – this crash happened on 24th July. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 and threw re 110 passengers and 6 crew members on board. It was a victim of bad weather and storm.