As a pilot, I completely disagree with how that was worded. It should be something more like this:
More people are killed by donkeys annually than
passengers killed in plane crashes.
Or you can have a sadistic sense of humor like me:
You are most likely going to die from a donkey than you are from being a passenger in a plane crash.
Or you can take on the private pilot perspective:
You are most likely going to die from stalling and/or spinning during takeoff/landing than from being killed by a donkey.