How Safe Is It To Travel By Air? What Experts Have To Say

The Alaska Airlines incident has left aviation experts worried.

In recent weeks, a series of mid-air incidents have brought into focus the issue of air safety. The door of an Alaska Airlines Boeing plane that blew out mid-air prompted strong reactions from social media users and led to audit of Boeing products in several countries, including India. A few days before that, a Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus collided with a smaller coastguard plane, resulting in the Airbus catching fire. So, is it really safe to travel by air? Here’s a look at the statistics and what the experts say.

Researchers at Harvard University say that odds of being in a plane crash are one in 1.2 million, and when it comes to dying in such an incident, the odds increase to one in 11 million.

This is significantly lower than dying in a car accident – one in 5,000.

“Is any form of transport always safe? No, but if you choose not to fly and instead take a car, that’s a far more dangerous way of travelling,” Richard Aboulafia, aviation industry analyst and managing director of Washington-based AeroDynamic Advisory, told Al-Jazeera.

Air safety has increased over the years

Every year, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) releases its global safety report, which showed that in 2022, the aviation industry saw a nearly 10 per cent decrease in accidents compared to 2020. It also said that fatalities resulting from aircraft accidents dropped by over 65 per cent during the same period.

Another study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) showed there was only one fatality every 7.9 million passengers who boarded the flights between 2008 and 2017. The same stood at closer to one death per 2.7 million passengers between 1998 and 2007.

The MIT paper also presented decadal comparisons of in pre-9/11 era, saying there was one fatality for every 1.3 million passengers from 1988 to 1997, which decreased to one per 750,000 boardings in the data from 1978 to 1987. A decade before that, there was one fatality for every 350,000 passengers. Adjusted to 2023 traffic figures, that would account for at least 18 aviation-related deaths every day.

The primary reason that has made air travel safer today is technological advancements, ranging from engineering overhauls to improved regulation. These include modern glass cockpits, improved jet engines and better equipment for flight crew, air traffic controllers and dispatchers so that they can work in coordination.

How aircraft safety checks are carried out?

Before an aircraft is cleared for flying, regular maintenance checks called A, C and D checks are carried out, as per Al-Jazeera. An A check includes changing filters, lubricating key systems and inspecting emergency equipment followed by a teardown and detailed inspection of the aircraft under D-check.

While many airlines are able to do A checks, only certain airlines are able to do C or D checks themselves, the outlet further said. These checks are carried out at regular intervals based on the number of years an aircraft has been in service or its number of flight hours.

Despite so many checks and stringent safety protocols, what happened this month has left experts concerned.

London-based independent aviation expert John Strickland told Al-Jazeera that the panel which flew off is supposed to be a secure part of the aircraft’s structure. “That’s why it’s more surprising and a matter of concern that this blowout happened,” he said.

Another aviation expert and consultant Alex Macheras agreed. “This should not be downplayed, that’s for sure. Because in modern commercial aviation, we do not see sections of an aircraft body, of fuselage, becoming separated from the rest of the aircraft, certainly not mid-flight,” he said.

The UK’s Reading University has warned that safety issues will crop up due to air turbulences, which have increased by 55 percent over the North Atlantic between 1979 and 2020.

The study concluded that turbulence will become worse with climate change.