Astonishing revelation shows biggest cause of plane crashes
Flying on a regular commercial airline is not as safe as you may believe. Every year several thousand people die or get injured in airline accidents. On average 1,000 to 2,000 people die, and roughly 2,000 to 5,000 are injured every year since records began in the 1930’s.
Many airline incidents are now so common that they don’t make the news. So called ‘minor’ incidents involving just one or two fatalities and injuries often go unreported in the press. Unless you personally experience or witness an airline accident, you can easily go through life with an impression that plane crashes just never happen.
One surprising fact is that ninety four percent of plane accidents happen on take off and landing. This accounts for about 88 percent of fatalities (figures for injuries are usually not recorded). The other four percent of plane accidents happen while the plane is cruising, which accounts for about 12 percent of fatalities. Source: the ‘Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, Boeing’.
But another even more astonishing fact is that pilot and flight crew error account for over 60% of all airline calamities. And remember that here we are talking about regular commercial airlines, without including private planes, military aircraft, etc. Source: information compiled by the website Air Crash Info.
Air crash statistics first started to be collected in the 1930’s. Since then the rate of airline accidents and fatalities has been surprisingly steady. That is, the percentage of accidents and deaths is on average about the same, year on year. So in spite of great aviation advances, the rate of accidents and fatalities per hundred flights continues unabated.
What then are the chances of an airline passenger becoming involved in a serious plane crash? Figures going back to 1988 (OAG Back Aviation Solutions & Plane Crash Info accident database, 1988 - 2007) show the following:
The chances of being on an airline flight which results in at least one fatality are about 1 in 3.3 million. This assumes that on average you travel on a mix of different airlines (not just the airlines with the safest records). Another factor is that many of these plane accidents (about 1 in 4) produces a mix of people who die and people who survive, albeit injured. Such injuries are often life-long (and life destroying).
Comparisons between air travel and car travel is difficult because statistics vary wildly from country to country. For example, in the USA there are on average 6 million car accidents every year, resulting in about 40,000 deaths a year.
It has been estimated that when you compare numbers of journeys (rather than mileage) you are 12 times more likely to be involved in a fatal plane incident compared to a fatal car incident. In other words, air travel is much less safer than car travel (source: ‘Air Travel Safety Secrets’).
So what can an airline passenger can do to avoid injury and death when you fly? Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do that greatly increase the chances of surviving an airline calamity without injury. But don’t expect to find the answers from an airline. See below for more information.
