| Flying on a commercial airline is not as safe as you | | | | about the same, year on year. So in spite of technical |
| would like to believe. Every year, as regular as | | | | advances, the number of accidents and fatalities per |
| clockwork, several thousand people die or get injured | | | | hundred flights continues unabated. |
| in airline accidents. On average 1,000 to 2,000 people | | | | So what are the chances of an airline passenger |
| die, and roughly 2,000 to 5,000 are injured every | | | | being involved in plane crash? According to 'OAGback |
| year since the 1930's. | | | | Aviation Solutions & Plane Crash Info accident |
| Airline incidents are now so common that they hardly | | | | database, 1988 - 2007' the figures are as follows: |
| make headline news, and many 'minor' incidents | | | | The odds of being on an airline flight which results in |
| involving just one or two fatalities and injuries go | | | | at least one fatality is about 1 in 3.3 million. This |
| unreported in the press. Unless you personally | | | | assumes that you travel on a mix of different airlines |
| experience or witness an airline accident, you can | | | | (not just the airlines with the safest records). Worse |
| easily go through life under the illusion that plane | | | | still is that many of these plane accidents (about 1 in |
| crashes hardly ever happen. | | | | 4) produces a mix of people who die and people |
| One astonishing fact is that ninety four percent of | | | | who survive, albeit injured. Such injuries are often |
| plane accidents happen on take off and landing, | | | | life-long (and life destroying). |
| accounting for about 88 percent of fatalities (figures | | | | Comparison with car crashes is difficult because |
| for injuries are generally not recorded). The other | | | | statistics vary wildly from country to country. In the |
| four percent of plane accidents happen while the | | | | USA, for example, there are 6 million car accidents |
| plane is cruising, accounting for about 12 percent of | | | | every year which produce about 40,000 deaths a |
| fatalities. The source for this is the 'Statistical | | | | year. |
| Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, | | | | It has been estimated that when you compare |
| Boeing'. | | | | numbers of journeys (rather than mileage) you are |
| But another even more astonishing fact is that pilot | | | | 12 times more likely to be involved in a fatal plane |
| and flight crew error accounts for over 60% of all | | | | incident compared to a fatal car incident. In other |
| airline calamities. And remember that here we are | | | | words, air travel is much less safer than car travel |
| talking about regular commercial airlines, without | | | | (source: 'Air Travel Safety Secrets'). |
| including private planes, military aircraft, etc. Source: | | | | Is there anything an airline passenger can do to avoid |
| information compiled by the website Air Crash Info. | | | | or minimize the risk of injury and death when you |
| Since the 1930's, when air crash statistics first started | | | | fly? Fortunately, the answer is yes. There are some |
| to be collected, the rate of airline accidents and | | | | simple things you can do that greatly increase the |
| fatalities has been surprisingly steady. That is, the | | | | chances of surviving an airline calamity without injury. |
| percentage of accidents and deaths is on average | | | | See below for more information. |