Brussels – In 2025, 116 people lost their lives in the European Union in air accidents involving aircraft registered in the EU. This is 25 more than in 2024, when the figure stood at 91. Since 2021, a total of 638 people have died in aircraft accidents on EU territory involving aircraft registered in the EU. These figures come from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
Most of the fatalities occurred in aircraft accidents related to non-commercial activities (109 accidents, accounting for 94 per cent). This category includes corporate and private aviation, demonstrations, flight training, and aircraft transfers. Four fatalities were caused by accidents in commercial air transport (3.4 per cent), while three (2.6 per cent) occurred during specialised operations (for example, aerial agricultural spraying, aerial advertising or aerial photography).
Accidents involving aeroplanes resulted in the highest number of fatalities (79), followed by those involving helicopters and gliders (18 deaths each) and those involving hot-air balloons (1). There were no fatal accidents involving unmanned aircraft.
In 2025, 143 people were injured in aviation accidents involving aircraft registered in the EU, down from the 215 people injured in 2024. Most of those injured (93) were involved in aeroplane accidents. These were followed, in descending order, by accidents involving hot-air balloons (19 injured), gliders (17), helicopters (12) and unmanned aircraft (2). In total, 32 people were injured on commercial flights.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
