AKIPRESS.COM - The Lion Air tragedy in Indonesia is the deadliest plane crash this year, with all 189 people on board presumed killed, Sky News reports.

The second-worst was in May when an aviation disaster in Cuba claimed the lives of 112.

Including Monday's tragedy in the Java Sea, a total of 551 people have died in commercial plane crashes around the world so far this year in 14 fatal air accidents.

The number of deaths is about 3% higher than the annual average over the past decade - 537, according to Aviation Safety Network data.

Between 2007 and 2017, the number of accidents in commercial flights dropped by 76%, with last year turning out to be the safest year of decade.

It saw 44 deaths in 10 accidents, which mean less than one accident per million flights.