The recent crash at Toronto Pearson Airport could raise concerns about North American aviation safety and increase pressure on regulators and lawmakers to strengthen US air travel protection measures
No deaths from Monday's incident have been recorded yet, but Delta Air Lines' jet capsized while landing in a very windy state, which is when Black Hawk helicopters were in Washington, DC's Potomac River It comes weeks after collision with an American Airlines passenger plane. , claiming the lives of all 64 passengers and three helicopter crews.
Alan Diehl, a former NTSB investigator, served as a safety advisor to the FAA and the US. The Air Force highlighted the shortage of air traffic control personnel, but told Newsweek that the FAA should emphasize “aviation decisions.”
Newsweek has requested comment from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and will update this article if responses are received.
How many aviation accidents did you have in 2025?
The map below shows US aviation accidents recorded in the year to date. Newseek uses FAA data supplemented with recorded military accidents not tracked by aviation regulators to include 38 serious fatal and non-fatal accidents or fatal accidents, including civilian planes. I discovered an unproven accident.
The map includes incidents that involve both large and small aircraft that collided, escaped from the runway, or involved in a taxiway collision at the airport, but not so serious FAA cases (securely landed) Includes flights and flights that took off due to engine issues or other issues. It has been excluded.
The potential death toll is low, but multiple military aviation accidents have occurred in recent weeks. Classified as a civilian incident on the map above, DC's crashe was involved in military aircraft, these still raise concerns about the overall safety of American air travel.
In late January, footage of an F-35 jet crashed while performing a training exercise in Alaska. The jet appears to be spinning uncontrollably as it plunges towards the ground, but the military later confirmed that the pilot was safe after the incident.
Last week, a Boeing EA-18G Gooler Navy aircraft crashed into San Diego Bay, but both pilots were safely rescued by the US Coast Guard and later confirmed to be in good condition.
The map above shows the 2025 aviation accident, separated by fatal and non-fatal incidents. Eight nine deaths have been recorded as a result of the 2025 aviation accident, according to FAA data. This was mainly due to the DC crash on January 29th, and the crash in early February, which caused the crash that crashed the Cessna Caravan, a small commuter plane. In western Alaska, all 10 people were killed on board.
Are the number of aviation accidents increasing?
According to the NTSB, 2025 saw over 100 incidents and various accidents of varying severity, but data suggests that this number is lower than in the same period last year.
Katherine KY Chen/Getty Images
According to a monthly regulatory tally of aviation incidents, 87 incidents have occurred so far this year. In comparison, there were a total of 173 accidents in the first two months of 2024, with 80 in January and 93 in February. In line with last year's figures, 86 accidents should occur within the next two weeks.
However, comprehensive data on the number of aviation-related deaths in the US in 2024 is not readily available, but 2025 could potentially cover last year's deaths thanks to the January 29 DC crash. It's expensive. The airline flight crashed into a residential area in New York, with all 260 people on board.
What people are saying
Alan Diehl, a former NTSB investigator, served as a safety advisor to the FAA and the US. The Air Force told Newsweek that the FAA's priorities should emphasize “aviation decisions.”
“Decision errors have been shown to be related to most common, fatal aviation accidents,” Diehl said.
Additionally, Diehl reportedly has a shortage of US air traffic controllers that the FAA needs another 3,000 air traffic controllers, cited as a factor in a fatal collision against Potomac last month. Masu.
Samuel Column/Getty Images
“The FAA should immediately remove forced resignation of the 56-year-old controller,” Diehl told Newsweek. “As the Transport Secretary proposed recently.”
“The FAA may also consider hiring individuals who have passed the aptitude test for air traffic control over the past few years, but have been denied employment due to a positive action decision by the previous administration.” he added.
Air lawyer Erin Applebaum previously told Newsweek that aviation safety and public confidence in FAA in particular is “the lowest ever.”
“The Trump administration now has the opportunity to set a different tone,” she said, but anyone who will be at the helm of the FAA following the departure of administrator Mike Whitaker last month has the FAA independent. He added that this must be shown to the aviation industry. It holds the Safety Monitor and the industry liability for safety violations, fraud and errors. ”
What happens next?
The new administration recognizes the American aviation safety struggle that appears to have influenced the decision to exclude air traffic controllers from “buying” as part of an effort to cut the federal workforce.
On Monday, new Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said, “To look at the current system first hand and learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike, Elon Musk's SpaceX team on Tuesday announced Virginia's Air Traffic Control. He said he would go to the System Command Center. He imagines their current tools and how we can create a better, modern, and safer system.”
But the Trump administration is currently being scrutinized by bringing hundreds of probation employees out just weeks after the fatal US crash in nearly a quarter century.
The NTSB investigation into the crash crash of a DC plane is still ongoing, and details of what led to the catastrophe could emerge over the coming weeks and months.
Are there any stories to cover? Do you have any questions about this article? Please contact livenews@newsweek.com.
