You’re sitting in seat 14B, white-knuckling the armrests because the wing just shuddered. We’ve all been there. Every bump of turbulence feels like the beginning of the end, and honestly, the news doesn’t help. Whenever a jet goes down, it’s front-page news for weeks, making it feel like the sky is basically a minefield. But if you actually look at the percentage of plane crashes compared to how many flights take off every single day, the reality is almost hard to believe.
Flying is safe. Like, absurdly safe.
In 2024, commercial airlines moved about 5 billion people. Think about that number. That’s more than half the humans on Earth taking a flight in a single year. Out of the 40.6 million flights that went up, only seven had fatal accidents. If you’re doing the math in your head, that is a percentage so small it’s basically a rounding error.
The Numbers Behind the Fear
People often ask about the "percentage" of crashes, but experts like the folks at IATA (International Air Transport Association) usually talk in "rates per million." Why? Because if you used a standard percentage, you’d have so many zeros after the decimal point it would be impossible to read.
The all-accident rate in 2024 was about 1.13 per million flights.
That means for every 880,000 times a plane left the ground, only one had any kind of "accident"—and most of those weren't even fatal. We're talking about things like "tail strikes" where the back of the plane scrapes the runway, or a landing gear issue that results in a bumpy stop but zero injuries. When you look at the fatality risk, it’s even lower, sitting at 0.06.
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To put that in perspective: you would have to fly every single day for roughly 15,871 years before you’d statistically expect to be in a fatal crash. Most of us just want to make it to our vacation in Cancun, not live through fifteen millennia of airport security.
Why 2025 Felt Different (Even If It Wasn't)
Now, if you’ve been watching the news lately, 2025 felt a bit "crashey." We had that horrific mid-air collision near Washington D.C. in January where 67 people died, and the Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad that claimed 241 lives. These are massive, heartbreaking events. They skew our perception because humans are wired to remember disasters, not the 39.9 million flights that landed perfectly fine.
The total number of fatalities in 2025 actually ticked up to around 418. That sounds like a lot until you realize that over 40,000 people die in car accidents every year in the U.S. alone.
The "spike" we saw in the last year isn't necessarily a sign that planes are getting worse. It’s more of a return to the long-term average after 2023, which was an freakishly safe year with only one fatal commercial accident globally. It’s what statisticians call "regression to the mean."
The Real Risks Nobody Talks About
Most people spend their flight worrying about the engines falling off. In reality, the "dangerous" parts of a flight are almost always the first and last few minutes. According to NTSB data, about 80% of all aviation accidents happen during takeoff, initial climb, final approach, or landing. Once you’re at 35,000 feet, you’re basically in the safest place you can be.
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And if you’re really nervous? Skip the small stuff.
The percentage of plane crashes is significantly higher for "general aviation"—that’s your neighbor’s four-seater Cessna or private charters. Commercial jets are built with triple-redundant systems and flown by pilots who have thousands of hours of training. Private planes? They account for nearly 72% of all fatal accidents. If you’re flying on a big-name airline, you’re backed by a massive infrastructure of safety audits called IOSA. Airlines that follow these audits have an accident rate nearly twice as good as those that don't.
Turbulence and the Climate Factor
There is one thing that’s actually getting worse: the ride.
You've probably noticed more "fasten seatbelt" signs lately. Climate change is actually making clear-air turbulence more frequent and more severe. In May 2024, a Singapore Airlines flight dropped 180 feet in a single second. It was terrifying, and one person tragically died from a heart attack during the chaos.
But here’s the thing: turbulence doesn’t crash planes. Modern wings can flex like a bird’s. They aren’t going to snap off. The danger in turbulence is being unbuckled and hitting the ceiling. That’s why pilots are so obsessed with those seatbelt signs now.
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How to Handle Your Next Flight
If the stats don't totally calm your nerves, there are a few practical things you can do to feel more in control.
- Fly the Big Guys: Stick to major carriers on the IOSA registry. They have the most money for maintenance and the strictest training.
- Keep the Belt On: Even when the sign is off, keep it buckled loosely. Clear-air turbulence can't be seen on radar, so it hits without warning.
- Look at the Five-Year Average: Don't freak out because of one bad news cycle. Look at the five-year rolling average, which has been steadily dropping for decades.
- Check the Region: Safety isn't even across the globe. North America and Europe have nearly flawless records, while regions like Africa still struggle with higher accident rates (around 9.54 per million flights) due to older infrastructure.
Basically, the percentage of plane crashes is so low that you’re technically in more danger during the Uber ride to the airport than you are at 30,000 feet. The system is designed to learn from every single mistake. When a part fails on a Boeing in 2024, every other Boeing in the world is checked for that same part within weeks. It’s a global "hive mind" of safety that just doesn't exist in any other form of travel.
Next time you're boarding, take a deep breath. The odds are overwhelmingly in your favor.
For your next trip, you might want to look up the safety rating of the specific airline you're booking on the AirlineRatings website to see their latest audit scores. If you're still feeling anxious, try using a flight tracking app like FlightRadar24 to see just how many thousands of planes are in the air right now, all flying perfectly safely.