The crash of planes in recent months has shaken up the public's belief in the safety of air travel.
A crash of a small medical plane in Philadelphia on Sunday killed seven people, wounding at least 19 people, following an airborne collision between a Washington DC plane and helicopter that killed 67 people just four days ago. Ta. Beyond the US, Kazakhstan and South Korea had an astonishing, famous crash in December.
Are there more air accidents now?
Despite these recent incidents, commercial aircraft remains one of the safest travel modes. Between 2018 and 2022, commercial aircraft fatality rates were one per 13.7 million passengers, according to data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cited by France24.
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In fact, plane deaths are rarer than between 2008 and 2017 when around one person died for every 7.9 million passengers. In 2024, despite some notable crashes, the overall global accident rate remained low, at around 1.3 per million flights.
What are the main causes of air accidents?
According to a survey by the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Academy in Florida, human error accounts for “up to 80% of aviation accidents.” Pilot mistakes contributed to 53% of cases, while mechanical failures caused 21% of accidents. Naturally, a study by plane maker Airbus found that takeoff and landing are the most dangerous moments of any flight.
How dangerous is it to fly?
Flying is much safer than driving. Five people have been killed in accidents on planned commercial flights in the US since January 2009. In comparison, an average of more than 100 people died on American roads and highways between 2003 and 2022, CNN said.
“When I arrived at the airport and got on a pressurized tube, it was the safest part of my trip. I was at risk of driving to the airport,” Aviation Safety Expert Anthony Brick said House told CNN.
Technology advances, strict regulations and thorough accident investigations have significantly improved aviation safety over the years. However, some people believe that the system is at risk of “overconfidence.” “We're trying to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is,” Ed Pearson, director of the Air Safety Foundation, told CNN. “That's not the right way of thinking. That's the way of thinking about killing people.”
