(NewsNation) — Incidents like the door plug that flew off an Alaska Airlines flight can heighten fears of flying, but aviation accidents are rare, and fatal ones even more so.
While frightening incidents on planes make headlines, accidents and fatalities have been going down since 2000.
According to the International Air Transport Association, out of more than 32 million flights in 2022, there were just 43 accidents worldwide, and only five were fatal. In the first six months of 2023, IATA reported 15 accidents, with only one fatal incident.
There are times when accidents are more likely to occur, with the biggest danger coming during landing.
From 2005 through the middle of 2023, 53% of accidents reported by IATA occurred during landing, followed by 8.5% during takeoff and 8.3% during approach. Just 6.1% happened during the initial climb, the phase of flight the Alaska Airlines plane was in when the panel blew off.
Those stats gave a fatality risk of 0.11% for 2022, meaning you’d have to take one flight every day for 25,214 years to get to a 100% fatality rate.
Where you are flying makes a difference, too. IATA reported the highest risk of accidents for flights is in the African region.
So, how does air travel stack up to other forms of transit?
Harvard University found that flying in the U.S., Europe and Australia gives you a one in 1.2 million chance of being in an accident and your chance of dying one in 11 million. The chance of dying in a car accident, meanwhile, is one in 5,000.
For those still struggling with a fear of flying, the travel industry is getting creative with solutions, including a service that connects nervous fliers with pilots who can offer some reassurance ahead of a flight.