new york
CNN
–
Flying right now is a nervous thing.
Just this month, a collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter killed 67 people in Washington, DC, and a Delta flight crashed in Toronto. In 2024, the year began with door panels blowing out Alaska Airlines flights, and months later, two fatal clashes occurred involving South Korea and Azerbaijan Airlines.
The numbers show that plane accidents are still rare.
Arnold Burnett, professor of statistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-authored the August 2024 airline safety survey.
But for an uneasy flyer, having all this information does not reduce the fear of flying. In fact, it could be the opposite, and could even affect panic symptoms at the airport, Jonathan Bricker, an affiliate psychology professor at the University of Washington, told CNN.
“An uneasy mind is never satisfied with the answer,” Bricker said. “I'm always looking for more information to reassure myself, as I think about other possibilities.”
It is also overwhelming to analyze various institutions and data points regarding airline safety. The Federal Aviation Administration under the Department of Transportation regulates civil aviation, while the National Transportation Safety Board investigates all major civil aviation accidents.
Both the FAA and NTSB have a lot of data to view, but many of the languages are industry-specific. The NTSB will post preliminary data on the number of accidents here (the chart shows suggesting that there were a record number of plane accidents nationwide in January). The NTSB also maintains an accident database, and the FAA has a landing page of various flight safety data and information.
If you can gain more knowledge, experts point to airline ratings. This does not calculate risk, but provides a detailed and reliable safety rating for the individual airline.
The site rates airlines on whether there are numerous serious pilot-related incidents, and with all major audits (for American Airlines including benchmarks such as the International Air Transport Association's audit and FAA ban). They handed over whether there was a fatal crash. The past 10 years.
Barnett also pointed out the Air Safety Network for details on individual crashes. For example, the site posts flight paths, images, coordinates, maps and information from news sources and social media posts for Delta Flights that rolled over in Toronto Pearson.
Kristy Kiernan, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told CNN that Flight Safety Foundation's “Skybrary” has valid and reliable information. This is like Wikipedia for industry knowledge, explaining the different types of accidents and what aircraft can expect in such situations.
“As an industry, we want to make sure people have the resources they need to understand something in amateur language,” Keenan said of Bricker, a professor of psychology. He said it was inconsistent. “You'll feel more comfortable if you learn about all the processes and procedures that exist in the aviation system to keep you safe.”
