The Nation - News from Jan. 14, 1986

Accidents involving large chartered airplanes accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 526 deaths last year that gave the nation’s large air carriers their worst fatality record since 1977, federal safety investigators reported. The National Transportation Safety Board said that 329 people were killed last year in three accidents involving large chartered aircraft, including the Dec. 12 crash of a military charter at Gander, Newfoundland, that killed 256 people. In addition, 197 people were killed in four of the 18 accidents involving large scheduled airlines that occurred last year, according to the board. It was the worst fatality rate for the larger commercial airlines since 1977, when 655 people were killed.