A tragic end to 2024 and start to 2025. A series of fatal plane crashes

The airplane is undoubtedly considered the safest means of transportation. However, the past year 2024 is the most tragic for aviation in a decade. A record number of people have died in plane crashes. Unfortunately, 2025 has not started optimistically either. We recall the most high-profile disasters of recent weeks.

Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan

On December 25th, an Embraer aircraft belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was supposed to land in Grozny, a city in the Russian region of Chechnya. Due to the weather conditions, the crew was not allowed to land at the original destination. The plane of the Azerbaijani airline was forced to divert to the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, about 400 kilometers away. During the landing attempt, the pilots lost control of the plane, which crashed in the steppe near the airport.

There were 67 people on board the plane: 62 passengers and 5 crew members. There were 38 fatalities. Most of the passengers were Azerbaijani citizens.

An official investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the tragedy. Both black boxes have already been recovered from the aircraft. They are intended to help determine what happened in Kazakhstan. If the initial findings are confirmed, the fault may have been due to a mistake on the part of the Russian side, which was targeting Ukrainian drones.

Jeju Air crash in South Korea

On December 29, the most tragic aviation accident of 2024 occurred in the South Korean city of Muan. The Boeing 737 of the Korean airline Jeju Air was on its way from Bangkok.

According to initial findings by the South Korean Ministry of Transportation, the cause of the crash was most likely a landing gear failure due to a collision with birds. The pilots made two landing attempts. Both attempts were made without the landing gear and with the engines out of action. The aircraft lost control, flew off the runway and crashed head-on into a concrete wall. An explosion occurred on the airport apron and the plane was almost completely destroyed and caught fire. Only part of the tail section survived.

A total of 179 people died in the crash. Only two crew members in the rear of the plane survived. The man and woman are injured and are currently in hospital. Most of the passengers were from South Korea. There were also two passengers on board with Thai passports.

Plane crash in California

The crash happened at the very beginning of 2025, on January 2nd. The accident happened in the area of Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 40 km south of Los Angeles. A security camera recorded the explosion of a fireball when a single-engine Vans RV-10 plane hit the roof of the building. A fire broke out. Several hundred people were evacuated from the warehouse and nearby companies.

According to police spokeswoman Kristy Wells, two people were killed and 18 injured in the crash. Ten of them had to be hospitalized. It is not yet clear whether the fatalities were on the plane or on the ground. The cause of the crash is also unknown at this time.

Plane crash in Washington

On the evening of January 29, an American Airlines passenger plane crashed in the United States. The plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter on approach to Ronald Reagan Airport. It then fell into the Potomac River.

There were 64 people on board the passenger plane, including four crew members. The helicopter, on the other hand, was carrying three soldiers. All 67 people on board the two aircraft were killed.

In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump explicitly suggested that the crew of the military helicopter made a mistake that led to the crash and that the tragedy could have been avoided. He also wondered why, despite the cloudless night, the military did not notice and avoid the collision with the passenger plane approaching for landing.

After the plane crash, the CEO of American Airlines, Robert Isom, also spoke. In an official statement, he expressed his “deep sorrow”. At the same time, he assured that the company would provide all information as far as possible. He also announced the launch of a special hotline for friends and family of the passengers.