Since the start of the year, aviation accidents have been all over the news. A total of 113 crashes, 15 of them being fatal, have occurred from January to February of 2025. These tragic occurrences cause many commercial flyers to be skeptical of their safety in the air. But, according to statistics from years past, the amount of disasters have decreased.
On January 29, 2025, an American Airlines plane crashed with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people aboard both aircrafts. This event was the only commercial plane crash in the U.S. in the past 15 years. The commercial flight was prepared to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport until it came into collision with the helicopter, causing both to fall into the Potomac River. Of the victims, there was a group of figure skaters travelling with their family and coaches, as well as multiple adults and children.
Other fatal crashes occurred in Philadelphia, Arizona, and Alaska. These accidents were smaller, non-commercial flights.
A twin-engine medevac jet crashed in a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, taking the lives of seven people on January 31. The jet carried a child patient and their mother as well as six Mexican citizens who were stopping in Springfield and eventually returning to Tijuana, Mexico. Shai Gold, a spokesperson for the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, states that the plane had “no indication of any problem whatsoever”. According to CNN, the crash impacted around four to six blocks of the city and scattered debris across neighborhoods.
On February 6, a commuter flight departed from Unalakleet and was on its way to Nome. The plane was found on that Friday, and according to the US Coast Guard, the aircraft was about 34 miles southeast from Nome. The crash claimed 10 victims, including all of the passengers and the pilot. The plane had been flying through rough weather conditions, dropping the elevation speed and leading to the accident.
A mid-air collision between two small planes on February 19 caused the deaths of two people. This occurred at around 8:30 AM near the Marana Regional Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that the airport was “an uncontrolled field” that does not have an air traffic control tower that was in operation. The investigation is still ongoing and the airport has been shut down temporarily.
So, has flying gotten less safe? The answer is no; there is actually a downward trend of fatal crashes over the last couple of decades. According to the NTSB, there has been a fall in aviation accidents from 2005-2024 besides the increase in number of flights.
In 2024, there were a total of 31 fatal plane crashes from the months of January to February. With a total of 16 less than this year, this downward trend suggests a rise in aviation safety. The rare occurrence of commercial crashes is also a direct result from improved technology and training.
The most dangerous forms of travel continue to be passenger vehicles such as motorcycles and cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that the rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles was 1.33 in 2022. However, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 2024 study, out of 13.7 million passenger boardings globally, there is 1 fatality. The Independent states that “U.S. residents are 1,753 times more likely to die on the roads than in plane crashes.”
There are currently around 2.9 million commercial flyers per day in the U.S. and a fatality rate of close to zero. With the improvement in airport efficiency and technical knowledge, there is hope for the downward path of these accidents to continue.