Here's an article on the Spanair flight JK 5022 in which 154 people were killed.

Could malware have led to Spanair plane crash? | News.com.au

In which the article says "A PLANE crash that killed 154 people may have been connected to malware on an important ground safety system,"

So could this be the first time malware is directly involved in someone's death.

IT Pro report that malware as reached an all time high
Malware reaches all time high | IT PRO

The chance of an infection to really important systems is now very real.
If the above article on the Spanair flight proves correct. Then malware has moved from the nuisance category to a very real threat to life bracket.
So we all need to be on our guard now. Inadvertently transferring an infected file to friends PC.
Could lead indirectly to someone's death.