Flight safety consultants claimed they were too embedded in everyday life in the US and were unable to be crippled by crashes on many planes that killed hundreds in just one year.
The news of the seemingly endless aviation tragedy appears to have eroded American beliefs about air travel. However, flight safety and data analytics experts have told us that despite the fiery crash sites, severe fatal tolls and horrifying images of consumer votes, people will continue to board commercial flights, despite people saying that travelling by plane is too convenient.
Jeff Currin, senior safety consultant at Brazos Safety Systems, “a leading provider of flight safety technology solutions for aircraft operators, with a special focus on helicopters and small fixed wing aircraft” gave him his thoughts after a horrifying day with aviation last week.
Currin claims that air travel in the US is the safest ever, despite reports of air crashes, with 306 people dead in 2024, according to National Road Safety Commission data.
The safety consultant described the recent crash of planes and helicopters as “anomaly” that does not represent the wider air travel area.
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“The public sometimes accepts the level of risk associated with air travel for granted,” Karin said. “Flying isn't risk-free, but overall it's safe. The most dangerous part of a flight is driving to the airport.”
He added that the air travel safety system, consisting of air traffic controllers, trained pilots and other guidance tools, works “perfectly 99% of the time.”
According to the agency's website, the Federal Aviation Administration processes more than 16 million flights in the United States each year. According to the NTSB, in 2024, 179 fatal aviation accidents occurred in the United States. Karin believes that the percentage of Americans in a small number of flights that end in tragedy should not distort the views of the American flight system.
He said that it would not be a problem if there was evidence that American air travel was severely flawed. American residents are so dependent on air travel that it is nearly impossible for the majority of people to abandon it without having an alternative. “The US is a big country. If you have a relative in Miami and it's based on the West Coast, I'm not going to drive.” A recent financial report from the major airlines involved in this year's fatal accident supports that claim.
In February, a Delta flight crashed and turned his head over as he was about to land on the icy runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Eight passengers were injured, but none were fatal. In March 2024, two passengers were injured on a United Airlines flight heading to San Francisco and were taken to hospital. After one had a broken back and the other had a broken ankle, the pilot was forced to put the plane upright to avoid another plane.
United and Delta benefited in the first quarter of this year despite two horrifying incidents, according to Reuters. United shares rose to 91 cents per share from 15 cents per share in 2024, with revenues totaling $132.1 billion, an increase of 5%.
Delta said it had generated $14 billion in operating revenue in the first quarter and reported $2.4 billion in operating cash flow. According to ChannelStv, earnings per share was $37.
But that's a different story for American Airlines. It was in the national spotlight in January after a collision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter located in the air along the Potomac River in Washington, DC, killing a total of 67 people on the plane, carrying 64 passengers and three choppers.
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Airlines with revenue calls for the first quarter of April 24th forecast higher than expected losses. According to Yahoo Finance, Americans said they expect their total revenue to remain flat compared to the first quarter of 2024. The airline itself attributes the loss to the permanent impact of flight 5342, and says few people have boarded domestic flights.
In Currin's opinion, the only industry that will certainly suffer permanent economic losses from an aviation accident is the helicopter tour industry. In April, five families from Spain died in a tragic helicopter incident along with the pilot.
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He said there is a greater risk of helicopter flight as the looser safety system becomes subtle when it comes to choppers. Overall, safety consultants believe that US airlines are almost safe from financial ruin thanks to their dependence.
“There may be some exceptions to some brands,” he said. “But for big airlines like Alaska, the US and the Southwest, they can have devastating events, but they will stay up and running.
