In the past few months, we have seen exceptional plane crash-drop clutches.
In mid-March, an American Airlines plane broke out after an engine failure occurred. It would fly from Colorado Springs to Dallas-Fort Worth, but was forced to detour to Denver. The extraordinary footage shows passengers evacuating the plane to the wing. All passengers and crew survived the accident, but six passengers were taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Credit: @flynnstone
The Denver fire comes after a series of air accidents in North America, including the horrifying case of American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with an Army helicopter while entering land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. There were no survivors.
A few days later, a small aircraft fell from the sky above Philadelphia carrying a child who had been recovering from life-saving treatment. And a week later, a small plane disappeared in Alaska, causing widespread search efforts to surge. The bodies of 10 passengers were later found.
In February, Delta Air Lines planes were turned upside down after a massive landing at Toronto Airport. All passengers and crew survived the accident.
These events continued during a particularly turbulent Christmas period for aviation. On December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was hit by missiles in Russian airspace, forcing a collision in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. A few days later, a Jeju Air Commuter Jet collided with a wall at the edge of the runway at Muang International Airport, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
As cases stack up, questions cannot be avoided. Is flight becoming more dangerous? The hard data suggests that the simple answer to this question is “yes”, but if you dig into the statistics you will see that the truth is more subtle.
How many planes crash in a year?
Aviation accident records show that 2024 was the most fatal year for air disasters since 2018. There were 16 fatal accidents that resulted in the deaths of 333 passengers and crew members. This came after 2023. This was one of the safest years in an air traffic accident that killed 115 passengers in just six fatal accidents.
However, it should be noted that the fatal figures for 2024 were similar to the previous year until the end of December. Two air disasters in Kazakhstan and South Korea almost tripled the fatal count of the year to 116-333. These two disasters changed from a positive year of aviation safety to one of the worst in a decade in 2024.
Last year we saw more accidents than ever before, including scheduled passenger services. Sometimes, commercial planes can die with zero deaths for the entire year. However, in addition to the above disasters, passengers died last year on a Singapore Airlines 777-300ER due to turbulence, and members of the cabin crew died in a smoke and smoke incident on a Swiss Airbus A220-300.
Aware that things get worse
In recent years, there has been more scrutiny of aviation safety, particularly after a series of famous incidents on Boeing planes.
Last April, passengers watched in horror as the engine cowling of the Boeing 737 flapd into the wind and it came off the plane during takeoff. The plane safely returned to Denver International Airport unharmedly, unharmed.
This came after the door plug came off the 1,600-foot Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, drilling a large hole in the side of the plane, tearing the shirt off the child's back. One flight attendant reportedly suffered minor injuries in the incident.
The reason Boeing is facing greater scrutiny is that in 2018 and 2019, two Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed. One is a flight from Lion Air in Indonesia, the other is a flight from Ethiopian Airlines – killing a total of 346 people. Investigators later discovered that crashes were linked to activation of new flight stabilization functions. After software updates and intensive safety checks, the 737 Max 8 returned to service at the end of 2020.
It is worth considering that incidents always occur at 35,000 feet, but the surge in smartphones and social media has heightened these awareness. When all minor incidents are captured on video and posted online, the upshot is a distorted feeling that flight is no longer safe. But the opposite is actually true.
Azerbaijan Airlines plane allegedly struck by missiles in Russian airspace on Christmas Day last year – Reuters
What experts say
Despite the fact that 2024 was the most fatal year for aviation since 2018, the past decade has been the safest on record. British and Ireland airlines have the highest safety records in the world as both Ryanair and EasyJet have never had a fatal accident.
John Grant of Flight Database and Statistics Company OAG said:
“This level of safe flight completion is one of the safest forms of transportation available, highlighting and confirming that the industry's professionalism and technical expertise continues to ensure safety.”
“They're flying for decades for commercial and cargo aviation,” said Brian Smith, a pilot who has flew for decades. “There have been some recent fatal accidents that raise obvious questions about the overall safety of air travel. The trend in accidents has followed a positive trajectory over the past 70 years seen for the amount of departures. In 2014, it fell to about 0.1 per million people.
“With enormous advances in technology, particularly jet engine reliability, improved ocean changes in aircraft control systems and air traffic control, air travel has become a clear winner in terms of safety.
American Airlines plane collided with an Army helicopter while entering land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 30, 2025 – Getty
“The industry, and the organisations that regulate it, have led to pilot interactions with improved human factor manifesto and automation through the introduction of evidence-based training (EBT).
“There's always a statistical blip, but overall, we believe aviation is still the safest form of travel, and passengers should continue to be confident in the industry.”
“We're committed to providing a great opportunity to help you,” said John Strickland, aviation expert at JLS Consultancy. “Flight remains a very safe form of transport, and it must be seen in the context of millions of flights operating, unfortunately, in the event of all accidents, especially in the presence of fatalities.
Damien Devlin, lecturer in aviation management at the University of East London, said: “Recent incidents will inevitably attract attention and will focus on the aviation sector.
“According to the IATA, there is one accident for every 1.26 million flights on average. The challenges continue during the takeoff and landing phases where half of the accidents occur, but the industry must continue to identify ways in which training, technology and flight decisions further enhance safety and its safety culture.
“Nevertheless, because of perspective, a person must travel in the air for 103, 239 years each day to encounter a fatal accident.”
This story was first published in February 2025, revised and updated.
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