Confidence in air travel dips after recent crashes
Plane crashes at historic lows, according to data
Polls show American passengers have less confidence in air travel after recent tragedies, despite overall plane crashes being at a historic low. FOX 9's Mike Manzoni has the full story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Despite overwhelming evidence that proves air travel is safer than ever, confidence in flying has dipped after a spate of high-profile crashes, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Flying safer than ever, but poll shows dip in air travel confidence
The backstory:
Out of the people surveyed, 64% said they felt "very safe" or "somewhat safe" in the skies, which is down from the 71% who said so last year.
The poll was conducted after an American Airlines jet collided with a military helicopter in Washington on Jan. 29.
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What they're saying:
"Everybody just feels a little unsafe," said Sally Roggio, who flew to Minnesota from Florida on Wednesday. "There’s always a danger, but there’s always a danger when you get in your car."
Others said family members were unnerved by the recent crashes.
"Even on the plane before going, my kids were, you know – mentioned it to me, too – ‘Be safe, mom,’" said Dawn Espinoza, who flew in from Washington.
Headlines can alter perception of air travel safety, expert says
Big picture view:
"The perception is not always reality…." said Sheldon Jacobson, a data scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "Every year, we have 10 million takeoffs and landings for commercial flights alone, and we have so few incidences."
Plane crashes have steadily fallen over 40 years, data show
By the numbers:
The number of plane crashes has markedly decreased over the last four decades, according to data compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board.
There are roughly 1,500 crashes each year, fewer than 400 of which are deadly.
In January, there were 63 plane crashes, the lowest number for that month since 1982.
Flying is exponentially safer than driving. About 40,000 people die in traffic accidents each year.
"We have around 90 to 100 deaths on the roadways every single day," said Jacobson. "If we had that level of deaths in the air, nobody would fly."