Fatal aviation accidents rise in 2016: IATA

The number of air accidents declined further in 2016, but more of them resulted in fatalities than in the previous year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Friday.

Some 65 accidents occurred last year, compared with 68 in 2015 and an annual average of 81 over the last five years, according to IATA's latest annual report on aviation safety.

Of 2016's accidents, 10 were fatal, versus four a year earlier.

"We did take a step back on some key parameters from the exceptional performance of 2015; however, flying is still the safest form of long distance travel," Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's director general and chief executive, said in a statement.

The accidents covered by the report killed 268 people, up from 136 in 2016 but below the five-year average of 371, according to IATA, which represents some 265 airlines or 83 percent of the world's total air traffic.

Among others, a plane crash in Colombia blamed on human error killed 71 people in November, including most of Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team.

An Egyptair flight crashed en route from Paris to Cairo in May, killing all 66 people on board.

IATA said the 2016 global jet accident rate, measured in hull losses per 1 million flights, was 0.39, compared with 0.32 in 2015 and 0.36 in the previous five years.