There's never been a safer time to fly: 2016 set to be the safest year in aviation history

The crash of LaMia Airlines Flight 2933 near the Colombian city of Medellín will do little to allay the fears of nervous fliers. But, though it will come as no consolation to the friends and families of the 71 who perished this week, 2016 is set to be one of the safest years in aviation history.

There has been a remarkably small number of air accidents this year - a testament to the stringent safety standards now in place around the world. Among 2016's other high-profile tragedies was EgyptAir Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, which disappeared in the Mediterranean in May, killing all 66 on board, and Flydubai Flight 981, which crashed during an aborted landing in Russia with the loss of 62 lives.

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According to the Aviation Safety Network, which keeps a database of all air travel incidents, there have been 16 fatal accidents in 2016, resulting in 272 deaths - down from 560 in 2015. Given that this year will see around 3.5 billion air passengers flown, that's just one death per 12,867,647 travellers (or one per 128,676 departures).

Only one year saw fewer deaths - 2013, with 265. But with 3.048 billion boarding a plane that year, according to the World Bank's data, this amounts to more deaths per passenger: one per 11,501,886. By this measurement, though there is a month to go, 2016 could well prove to be the safest ever year for air travel.

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When one discounts hijackings and sabotage, 2015 was actually safer. The crashes of a Germanwings A320 in March 2015, deliberately caused by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, and a Metrojet A321 in October, due to a suspected bomb, accounted for the majority of last year's fatalities.

Last year also saw the fewest number of fatal crashes involving passenger aircraft - just seven. There has been 10 so far in 2016. The general trend, however - that air travel has never been safer - is easy to see.

But what of the deadliest year in aviation history? Surely 2014, which saw a string of disasters involving Malaysia Airlines (two crashes and 537 deaths), AirAsia (162 deaths), Air Algerie (116), TransAsia Airways (48) and Sepahan Airlines (39), must be a contender? The total for 2014 of 990 deaths was the highest for a decade, but some way off the record. For that, one must go back to 1972, which saw a remarkable 2,370 deaths and 72 fatal accidents. There were 11 crashes that saw at least 100 perish, including four Aeroflot flights, and others involving Iberia, Sterling Airways, Alitalia, British European Airways, Interflug, Spantax and Eastern Air Lines.