How safe is flying?

Answer 1

As most people know too well, flying is one of the safest forms of travel. Safer than going to the grocery store in your car.

As proof, here are a few statistics; * A US National Safety Council study showed flying to be 22 times safer than traveling by car * 21,000 people (on average) die on the road in the US in a 6-month period. This is approximately the same amount of all commercial air travel fatalities WORLDWIDE in 40 years * More than 3million people fly EVERY DAY. * A Boeing aircraft takes off or lands every 2 seconds somewhere in the world - all day, every day! [http://www.flyingfear.net/articles/how-safe-is-flying-detailed-statistics.html] * In 2000, the world's commercial jet airlines carried approximately 1.09 billion people on 18 millionflights, while suffering only 20 fatal accidents. [http://www.boeing.com/commercial/safety/pf/pf_howsafe.html] * In the United States, it's 22 times safer flying in a commercial jet than traveling by car, according to a 1993-95 study by the U.S. National Safety Council. [http://www.boeing.com/commercial/safety/pf/pf_howsafe.html]

The statistics are even more dramatic when seen next to other forms of transit. According to 2003-2004 U.S. TransportationFatalities by the National Transportation Safety Board, in 2004 there were 42,636 fatalities from people driving on highways while there were 14 fatalities from airlines. By evidence of the amount of attention the news spends on any given plane crash illustrates how rare these events really are. After all, it is not national news every time someone dies in a car accident. At the same time, if things DO go wrong, many are scared by the fact that the passages have almost no control over the situation, making it a terrifying way to die. Furthermore plane crashes do not necessarily cause an instantaneous death. Even recent compensation claims by relatives of air crash victims have concentrated on the amount of mental torture and stress these poor souls go through in the event of such an accident. But once again, this is the vast minority of people. While a fear of flying is not uncommon or unreasonable, it is illogical. If you are scared of flying and have the resources and time to travel a different way, by all means, use the mode of transport that makes you feel most comfortable. But if you must fly, statistically it will not be the end of the world. Recommend you visit the NTSB website. The NTSB investigates crashes and keep statistics on crashes for both passenger and general aviation aircraft. They also have a data base of all accidents that allow you to read about the accident and the cause. Of course, this might scare you even more but it does give an idea as to what causes the accidents.

Answer 2

Yes. Statistically speaking it is the safest mode of common travel.