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Astonishing revelation shows biggest cause of plane crashes Print E-mail
Written by Russell Eaton   
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.
by RussellEaton


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 astonishing fact that emerges from the figures is that ninety four percent of plane accidents happen on take off and landing, accounting for about 88 percent of fatalities (the figures for injuries are not recorded). The remaining four percent of plane accidents happen while the plane is cruising, accounting for about twelve percent of fatalities. These figures are given by the 'Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, Boeing'.

Another more surprising fact is that pilot and flight-crew account for over 60% of all fatal airline incidents. Here we are talking about regular commercial airlines, without including military aircraft, private planes, executive jets, etc. Source: 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.

So what are the chances of an airline passenger being involved in plane crash? According to 'OAG Back Aviation Solutions & Plane Crash Info accident database, 1988 - 2007' the figures are as follows:

The odds that you will travel on an airline which results in at least one fatality is about 1 in 3.3 million. This figure is based on traveling on a mix of different airlines (not just the airlines with the safest records). Worse still is that many of these airline accidents (about 1 in 4) results a mix of fatalities and injuries. Such injuries are often life-long (and life destroying).

Comparison with car crashes is difficult because statistics vary wildly from country to country. In the USA, for example, there are 6 million car accidents every year which produce about 40,000 deaths a year.

Figures show that when you compare the numbers of air travel journeys (rather than mileage or distance traveled) you are much more likely to be involved in a fatal plane incident compared to a fatal car incident. This shows that air travel is in fact much less safer than car travel (sources: 'The Tombstone Imperative' and 'Air Travel Safety Secrets').

You might well ask: is there anything one can do to avoid or minimize the risk of injury and death when you fly? Fortunately, the answer is a firm yes. There are some simple things that an airline passenger can do to greatly increase the chances of surviving an airline calamity without injury. Please see below for more information.

About the Author:

If traveling by air you must see Plane Crash Odds. See also Plane Crash Statistics. A completely free quality ebook can be downloaded that shows airline passengers how to travel safely.
 
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