2014 may become deadliest year for airlines in a decade

London

THREE fatal airline crashes in a week mean 2014 is shaping up to become the worst year in almost a decade for passenger fatalities.

The disappearance of a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft on the fringes of the Sahara desert on Thursday follows the loss of an ATR-72 turboprop in a storm in Taiwan on Wednesday and the downing of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 over Ukraine last week.