International airline accident death toll fell in 2013

Airline crashes killed 210 people last year, half as many asthe five-year average, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) saidTuesday.The Geneva-based industry group said that of the 81 airline accidents in 2013, 16resulted in fatalities.The Asia Pacific area was among the regions where airline safety decreased last year,as the rate of 0.7 serious accidents per million flights was worse than the 2009-2013average of 0.64, according to IATA.Accidents involving Asian airlines last year included the Asiana Airlines crash in SanFranscisco, which left 3 dead and 181 injured, as well as the Lao Airline crash intothe Mekong river, which killed all 49 on board, dpa reported. The former Soviet states were the worst-performing region last year, with 2.09serious accidents per 1 million flights. Safety improved significantly in Africa last year, but the continent’s airlines are onlymarginally safer than the ones in former Soviet countries, the statistics showed.