CNN
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There's nothing under you, except for 40,000 feet of thin air, but you might be rushing through the sky, but when it comes to traveling on a commercially available plane, it's by no means the most dangerous part of flying.
Aviation safety has undergone a new scrutiny following a series of tragic incidents in recent weeks, and has led some uneasy travelers to think twice about booking flights.
Flying by plane is often said to be one of the safest modes of transport, but these events (some of which cause deaths) underscore the fact that there is still danger.
However, according to pilots and aviation experts, these times of danger are mostly takeoff and landing at very specific moments during flight. And some say one is more inherently dangerous than the others.
During these procedures, incidents have occurred in recent months, prompting investigations from the US National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Following the January 29 air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, public attention on aviation safety was raised when the American Airlines regional jet was struck by a Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission at the moment after the landing.
A few days later, United Airlines flights from Houston to New York were evacuated after an engine fire was reported before takeoff. 104 passengers and five crew members used slides and stairs to evacuate the aircraft on the runway.
Less than two weeks later, the Learjet 35A, owned by Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil, who was not on the plane, left the runway while landing and crashed into a business jet on the Gulf Coast on a ramp at Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona, killing the pilot.
Since then, attention to other aviation incidents has sparked public anxiety over flights, and airlines have noticed the financial burden.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, was some of us who were told “flying, that's the safest speed of travel,” to head of the NTSB during the March 26 monitoring hearing.
However, experts are confident in the country's safe skies and their ability to fine-tune important aspects of flight after learning from these incidents.
Of the 1,468 accidents recorded by the International Air Transport Association in 2024, 770 occurred at landing, with 124 occurring during takeoff.
CNN transport analyst Mary Siabo attributes the inherent dangers required to take off and land at the airport and the high rate of accidents at these flight stages to maneuvering.
“Airports bring more stress to pilots, air traffic controllers and aircraft,” Schiavo said.
She believes landing is more dangerous than takeoff because there are fewer options when landing.
“It's a really important time, especially for mid-alignment and collisions,” Schiavo said. “If you take off, there is a runway. You can see the runway right in front of you, but sometimes some people enter the pattern without proper clearance.
Takeoff and landing were not taken lightly. Pilots are trained and retrained to respond if something goes wrong at these critical moments.
According to Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, they are spokesmen representing American Airlines pilots, so the FAA does not allow unnecessary conversations or activities under 10,000 feet.
The “sterilized cockpit” rule was established by the FAA in 1981. Allow time for these key moments when pilots focus on taking off or landing the plane.
“It's very important that your full attention is on one thing, and it's flying the plane towards the taxi,” Tarjar said. “For actual flights for takeoff, you're heavy. You're accelerating to a speed where you can fly from scratch.”
The pilot has a number of checklists that are performed to perform these tasks, he said.
If the pilot or controller starts doing something wrong, there is redundancy.
Last week, Southwest Airlines flight 3278 began accidentally taking off in taxis at Orlando International Airport.
Audio from the control tower showed exactly the moment the tower cancelled takeoff.
“Stop SW 3278, stop!” An air traffic controller said from the tower, according to Broadcastify's audio. “Cancel the takeoff clearance. You are at H Taxi Way Southwest 3278.”
The pilot then hit the brakes and stopped. “Yes, sensei. I've stopped,” replied the pilot.
These recent events have come to light areas where the industry can “strengthen” the systems and “reduce risk,” according to Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots from many airlines, including PSA, which owns American Airlines involved in the deadly air collision in January.
“Safety is a common responsibility that requires commitment from everyone heading into the air, from commercial airlines to general and business aviation operators,” Ambrosi said. “Earnings like these reinforce the reason why pilots train relentlessly, hold themselves to the highest standards and work together daily to ensure that air travel is the safest mode of transport.”
Incidents and accidents occur more frequently in general aviation, mainly because this category includes more aircraft. General aviation, in contrast to commercial aviation, refers to smaller planes, sometimes owned and used for recreational purposes.
Mike Ginter, senior vice president of the Aircraft Safety Institute for Aircraft Owners and Pilot Associations, said there may be smaller aircraft takeoffs and landing accidents, but these are unlikely to be fatal.
“Last year there were 195 deaths,” Ginter said. “But in the context it's down. It's a low of 32 years. Last year was probably the safest year ever, because it has a downward slope of 32 years.
While there seem to be a lot of incidents, Ginter said that general aviation continues to increase its safety records.
Ginter has 205,000 common aviation planes across the country, with all pilots focusing on maintaining safety, and training focusing on that.
Many of the NTSB investigations of recent incidents have not ended for more than a year, but they could encourage tentative changes.
The FAA implemented one of the NTSB's urgent recommendations for helicopters in the airspace of Reagan Airport after an air collision investigation.
On the other hand, pilots are aware of the risks of takeoff and landing and should not take it lightly.
“It may not be a rocket ship, but the amount of activity that is happening and all the convergence that it is being made and is being prepared correctly is happening with the increased activity of takeoff or landing,” Tarjar said. “That's important. We've been playing games all the time, but it's turning your A game on.”
