How many people have died on earth because of airplanes in peace and in war?

I'm trying to compare deaths by Airplanes (both in peace and in war) to the AI we are all now dealing with because I think the Airplane and AI have the biggest correlation in technology now on earth.

 

First fact: about 100,000 people have died so far in civilian Airplane accidents in the last 130 or so years since motorized flight in 1903. (Actually it's exactly 123 years to be more precise).

 

And 10s of millions of people have died from Warfare from Bombing and straffing and things like this too and I think you have to add to this from missiles and drones also. And I think we have to expect in the present round of drones and missiles many millions more killed by drones and missiles this century too in every nation on earth because of the way things look right now here on earth. 

 

begin quotes from AI Overview

 

Exact global totals for all deaths caused by airplanes—spanning peacetime accidents and wartime combat—do not exist because comprehensive historical tracking across early aviation, private flight, and global conflicts is incomplete. However, estimates and records provide a clear picture of the scale in both contexts. 

1. Peacetime (Civil and General Aviation Accidents)

Civilian and General Aviation (All-Time): Estimates suggest that over 100,000 people have died in civilian and general aviation accidents worldwide since the early 1900s (excluding military operations). 
Commercial Aviation: Out of that total, scheduled commercial passenger flights account for a smaller fraction. For example, the Aviation Safety Network and historical safety trackers record roughly several hundred to over a thousand commercial fatalities globally in an average year, dropping significantly per passenger-mile as safety has improved. 
Recent Peacetime Totals: Global aviation deaths tracked by databases like the Aviation Safety Network reached 548 deaths in 2025 and around 404 in 2024. 

2. Wartime (Military Aviation and Air Raids)

Direct Combat & Air Raids: Airplanes in war have caused tens of millions of deaths—either directly via aerial bombardment, strafing, and dogfights, or via strategic bombing campaigns.
• In World War II, conventional and atomic bombing raids (such as those on European and Japanese cities, or Hiroshima and Nagasaki) killed anywhere from several hundred thousand to over a million civilians.
• Total deaths from all combined causes in World War II reached 60 to 80 million, though isolating the exact percentage directly caused by or delivered from aircraft is not separately itemized in global master tallies. 
Military Aviation Accidents in Wartime: Military aviation historically suffers high non-combat losses. For instance, more than 15,000 U.S. airmen died in training accidents alone during World War II before ever facing enemy fire. 
Terrorism / Hijackings: Notable single-day events like the September 11, 11th, 2001 attacks—where commercial airliners were used as weapons—resulted in nearly 3,000 direct deaths and triggered subsequent wars. 

• 

  History.com

  World War II: Causes, Timeline, Key Battles, Facts & Legacy

  Jul 15, 2026 — Devastating Loss of Life: Of the 60 to 80 million deaths during World War II, most were civilians, including 6 million victims of ...

  
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  Facebook·Firstpost

  A look at the human cost of 9/11 and the wars that followed, 25 ...

  Sep 11, 2026 — More than 4.5 million people have died from wars since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US and that number continues to...

  
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  History.com

  Why World War II Was History’s Deadliest War

  May 7, 2026 — * Some earlier conflicts, such as the Mongol conquests of the 13th and 14th centuries, may also have caused enormous loss of life.

  

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War and Peace

Our World in Data

https://ourworldindata.org › war-and-peace

by B Herre · 2024 · Cited by 43 — Some conflicts are much, much deadlier than most · Conflict deaths have declined; it is on us that this trend continues · Armed conflict is a rare cause of death ...

Missing: airplanes ‎| Show results with: airplanes

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Infectious disease, led primarily by malaria and tuberculosis, has killed the most humans in history.

Top Historical Killers

Malaria: Experts estimate this mosquito-borne parasite has killed half of all the humans who have ever lived. It has plagued humanity since the Stone Age. 
Tuberculosis (TB): This ancient bacterial infection has claimed over 1 billion lives across human history, making it one of the deadliest single pathogens on record
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Smallpox: Over its 3,000+ year history, smallpox killed hundreds of millions of people—including an estimated 300 to 500 million in the 20th century alone—before humans successfully eradicated it in 1980. 
The Bubonic Plague: Also known as the Black Death, this pandemic wiped out tens of millions in the 14th century, killing up to half of Europe's population and vast numbers across Asia and North Africa. 

Other Major Causes of Death

Famine: Large-scale starvation events, such as the Great Chinese Famine (1958–1962), have claimed tens of millions of lives in compressed timeframes. 
War and Violence: Compared to disease, combined conflicts (including World War I and World War II) account for a much smaller fraction of total historical mortality, estimated in the hundreds of millions. 

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Suicide is the leading cause of death for active-duty military service members. 

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Statistics: Data from the Defense Casualty Analysis System shows that suicide accounts for the largest share of active-duty fatalities, outpacing accidents, illnesses, and combat-related deaths. 
Contributing Factors: High-stress job environments, frequent relocations away from personal support systems, deployment cycles, and access to firearms contribute to this elevated risk. 
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(Note: If you or someone you know is in crisis or struggling with mental health, support is available 24/7. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 and press 1, or text 838255 to reach the Veterans/Military Crisis Line.)

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https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu › Costs

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