Recent media coverage of aviation has raised concerns about whether flying is still safe. Is the whole aviation system at a point of crisis or has it simply become a highly viewed field, igniting excessive news coverage?
Although some high-profile incidents have gained significant attention, data still suggests that air travel remains safer than ever.
Three recent incidents have been at the center of the media surge. The mid-air collision in Washington, D.C., was the first high-profile commercial aviation crash in 15 years.
Another incident occurred in Toronto when a Delta Airlines jet flipped upside down while landing, injuring at least 18 people.
A more recent incident happened at the Denver Airport, where an American Airlines plane engine caught on fire, leading to an emergency landing and prompt evacuation.
These events have understandably sparked anxiety and raised concerns—and they’ve launched a chain reaction of media sensationalism.
Footage of minor events, such as turbulence, emergency landings and minor runway incidents, began appearing more frequently on the internet, giving the false appearance of flying coming with a high risk.
It is critical to remember that the moment an incident starts to dominate headlines, it can naturally invite excessive coverage of the entire field that feeds paranoia.
The truth is that these incidents have always occurred—with or without coverage. The data tells a different story: Aviation remains the safest option today.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there has been a reduction in aviation incidents over the past few years.
In January 2025, there were 67 air accidents in the U.S., compared to 80 in January 2024 and 90 in January 2023, according to NTSB. International Civil Aviation Organization data also shows a great reduction rate since 2005, dropping from 4.4% per million flights globally to 1.87%.
A notable example of the Federal Aviation Administration’s rapid response was the ban on non-essential helicopters at the Ronald Reagan National Airport due to safety concerns while investigating the same implementation in other U.S. airports.
Also, near misses indicate that safety mechanisms are in place to prevent more serious issues. The aviation industry has spent decades upgrading pilot and Air Traffic Control training, technology and protocols to avoid serious incidents, and in case they happen, minimize the risk.
A study from MIT shows that the risk of a fatal plane crash remains around 1 in 13.7 million flights, a statistic omitted from many news reports.
There have been various misconceptions created by viral footage of minor incidents. For one, turbulence videos are often attributed to the machine malfunction, which has nothing to do with it. Instead, it is a completely normal atmospheric phenomenon, and the plane is designed to withstand it.
Engine failure — even a rare event by itself — is manageable thanks to a redundant system, a backup operating system, of the plane, allowing it to function on a single engine if needed.
The current wave of panic is a result of selective reporting, creating an illusion of the danger of flying. Air travel itself is a high-profile industry, so there has always been attention to it, but it is important to look at the facts.
Flying remains the safest form of transportation because while incidents do occur, the industry continuously adapts.
Close calls do happen, but regular improvements to the aviation industry make them a much more prevalent outcome without escalating into a fatal incident.
Sometimes, the turbulence is far from the skies — it is in shocking headlines that popularize a false sense of doom.
