How Concerned Should We Be About Airplane Safety Right Now?

An in-flight scare on Alaska Airlines. A sudden plunge of another jumbo jet that sent passengers crashing into cabin ceilings and seat backs. A series of incidents involving United Airlines planes that drew the attention of regulators. All of this occurred within just the first few months of 2024.

Aircraft safety has become the hot topic of discussion and the subject of mockery on late-night television. It’s understandable that passengers might feel anxious or hesitant about boarding a plane in the near future. But is there a real cause for concern?

Many experts warn that this could be a classic example of hysteria taking over a narrative.

“It’s being exaggerated,” states Michael Derchin, a veteran airline analyst. “And it’s unfortunate because this fear could lead some individuals to avoid flying, especially if they lack the complete picture.”

Many observers note that there have been no passenger fatalities in recent commercial airline incidents.

There’s no solid evidence to indicate that a large number of travelers are avoiding Boeing models or airlines in general. It remains uncertain whether the rapid series of events signals a wider trend or if it’s merely coincidental. While many incidents involve Boeing aircraft, not all do, and this alone does not point to a design flaw, as most commercial jets are manufactured by this leading company.

Certainly, the details can be concerning: Boeing finds itself at the heart of the controversy once more, five years after the global grounding of the problematic Boeing 737 Max shook the industry following two fatal crashes. Now, it’s under scrutiny again due to a string of alleged safety issues that, according to regulators and safety experts, contributed to the frightening January 5 incident on an Alaska Airlines flight, where a door plug panel detached from a 737-9 Max during the flight. The repercussions continue; just this week, Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun resigned along with several other high-ranking officials. This follows news that the company is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Department of Justice, which has initiated a criminal inquiry into the Alaska Airlines incident.

“Regarding Boeing, this is truly unprecedented; they have lost much of the credibility they built over 80 years,” states William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. However, he expresses optimism about the robust response from the FAA under its new administrator, Mike Whitaker, in overseeing the company. “While one could argue that what happened to the Alaska Airlines flight was inexcusable, letting Boeing fail is not an option,” he points out, noting that it is one of the largest exporters in the U.S. and a major defense contractor.

Boeing is not the only airline under scrutiny; the FAA has recently disclosed that it has intensified oversight of United Airlines following a string of incidents in recent weeks: a plane lost a tire at San Francisco Airport, another aircraft slid off a runway in Houston, and in another strange occurrence, an engine caught fire after ingesting plastic bubble wrap during takeoff.

Despite the surrounding circumstances, is this truly a crisis within the industry, or is it merely the perception created by a series of troubling headlines?

John Goglia, a former NTSB member and aviation safety consultant, asserts that in the case of United Airlines, the incidents that prompted FAA oversight “are not linked in any way; they are not indicative of a systemic issue.”

He adds, “A pilot taxiing off the runway is something that occurs regularly.”

Goglia further mentions, “They were meant to have resolved this issue four years ago,” referring to the grounding of the Max aircraft following two deadly crashes within five months starting in 2018, which claimed the lives of a total of 346 individuals—157 aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight and 189 on a Lion Air flight in Indonesia.

He and other experts stress that, despite the rare incidents that make headlines, air travel remains incredibly safe and has improved over time thanks to regulatory changes and technological innovations. In fact, commercial air travel is currently experiencing its safest era ever. In North America, the last fatal accident involving a major commercial airline occurred 15 years ago in 2009, when a Continental Airlines commuter plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, resulting in the deaths of all 49 individuals on board.

Others remind passengers of the importance of contextualizing individual incidents. For instance, the FAA monitors over 50,000 flights daily, with very few safety issues reported.

“Safety concerns tend to be cyclical,” says Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and aviation safety authority. “In the past, the primary cause of airplane accidents was a phenomenon known as CFIT [controlled flight into terrain],” which occurs when a perfectly functional aircraft is unintentionally flown into the ground or another obstacle. However, in recent years, safety enhancements such as advanced navigation technology, improved training, and better coordination among cockpit crews have significantly decreased CFIT incidents worldwide, according to the FAA.

The public should take comfort in the FAA’s swift response to recent occurrences.

Bangs notes that last year, a series of near misses at airports drew widespread attention, prompting the FAA to issue numerous recommendations, including reducing the number of takeoff and landing slots at busy airports and increasing hiring for air traffic controllers. Prior to that, Southwest Airlines faced scrutiny for scheduling and IT issues, ultimately leading to the airline being fined significantly, with funds allocated for travelers affected by future disruptions.

Bangs believes this indicates a positive outlook for the FAA’s ongoing review of United Airlines. “When the FAA decides to focus on a specific airline and scrutinize its safety culture and protocols, it ultimately enhances safety for all of us,” she states. “It keeps the industry vigilant.”

Regarding the recent series of incidents, Bangs states, “We won’t truly understand if there’s a problem with United until the FAA conducts an investigation and releases their findings. However, would I worry about flying on a major U.S. airline? Not at all. My concerns would be about traveling to and from the airport or my hotel during vacation, as that’s where the real danger lies—on our roads, in our vehicles,” emphasizing that air travel remains safe.

In fact, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy has highlighted that, on average, 118 Americans lose their lives in car accidents each day, illustrating the stark difference between road safety and airline safety records.

Bangs adds that the statistics are such that “if someone were born in a top-tier hospital and lived their entire life within its walls, their chances of dying there would still exceed those of a person born on a Delta Airlines flight who continuously flew for 80 years.”