'Is it safe to fly?': Frequent plane crashes lowers American confidence in air travel

Frequent plane accidents in 2025 have resulted in lower confidence among flyers in America with 64 per cent of passengers thinking that travelling by air is somewhat safe, a dip from 71 per cent recorded last year, a survey has shown.

A poll by AP-NORC found that two in 10 Americans believe air travel is very or somewhat unsafe, a 12 per cent decrease from 2024. It also found that people have less trust in pilots and the federal government to ensure their safety in the sky.

Last year, the AP-NORC survey indicated that 45 per cent of people in the US had confidence in pilots to fly them safely to their destinations while 20 per cent trusted the federal government. This year those numbers dropped to 41 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

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Public confidence in air traffic controllers has also decreased from 40 per of Americans last year to 35 per cent this year.

Spike in plane accidents

In recent weeks, multiple aviation accidents have occurred. On January 30, an American Airlines aircraft and a military helicopter collided midair over the Potomac River in Washington, DC, resulting in the deaths of all 67 individuals aboard both vehicles. This tragedy marks the deadliest aviation incident in the US since 2009, when a Colgan Air flight crashed near Buffalo, New York, claiming the lives of all 49 passengers and crew, along with one person on the ground.

The DC crash was followed by another tragic air accident where a medical transport flying a mother, her child patient and four others crashed in a Philadelphia neighbourhood, leaving seven people dead.

On February 6, a small commuter plane carrying 10 people crashed in western Alaska near Norton Sound, resulting in the deaths of everyone on board.

Earlier this week, a Delta Air Lines jet carrying 80 passengers and crew made a crash landing at Toronto Pearson Airport, overturning upon impact. While 21 individuals were hospitalized, there were no fatalities.

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‘Is it safe to fly?’

The string of plane crashes has prompted people to search “Is it safe to fly” or “How many plane crashes in 2025” and “Why are planes crashing” on Google, as per multiple media reports.