Most American adults believe that air travel is generally safe in the U.S., despite some doubt about whether planes are properly maintained and free of structural problems.
About seven in 10 American adults say airplanes are a “very” or “somewhat” safe way to travel, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Even with that high level of confidence, only about two in 10 American adults have “a lot” of confidence that airplanes are properly maintained, or that they are safe from structural failures. Another half are ‘moderately’ confident that this is the case.
The survey was conducted after a Jan. 5 accident in which a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner 15,000 feet above Oregon, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane. That led to the grounding of more than 140 planes and raised questions about Boeing’s ongoing production problems and the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to address them.
American adults have more confidence in the ability of pilots and air traffic controllers to maintain air safety than they do in the commercial airlines, aircraft manufacturers or federal government agencies in charge of them. A majority has at least ‘moderate’ confidence that everyone guarantees safety.
Some with a fear of flying expressed even more concerns because of the Alaska Airlines incident.
“I don’t like flying. It’s so unnatural: we’re in a metal tube flying through the air,” said Margaret Burke of Pensacola, Florida, who read accounts of the plane incident, in which no serious injuries occurred. “The fact that people fly safely every day seems like a miracle to me.”
Despite her fears, Burke is hopping on a plane for a trip to California this spring because of the speed and convenience that air travel offers.
“I have a three-year-old and I can’t put him in a car seat for three days in a row, it’s just unfair,” she said.
Even when there are maintenance issues, American adults have a higher level of assurance that pilots and air traffic controllers are properly trained and engaged in proper safety procedures. Just under half (45%) have “a lot” of confidence in pilot training, while 38% say the same about air traffic controllers.
About a quarter of American adults have a high level of confidence that air travel is safe from terrorist attacks, or that government agencies have put in place the necessary safety regulations. Despite this variation, a majority of American adults have at least “a moderate amount” of confidence that airplanes are safe, pilots are properly trained, and that regulations are appropriate.
That may be because flying is still much safer than driving and also safer than traveling by mile, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Airline officials and aviation regulators are keen to point out that there has not been a fatal US plane crash since 2009, although in 2018 a passenger on a Southwest flight was killed after an engine explosion and in the past year there has been there has been a sharp increase in the number of aircraft accidents. close calls are being investigated by federal officials.
Sherry Kohn, a retired English literature teacher in Pennsylvania, thinks flying is generally safe — “I’d get on a plane” — but she is among those who are only moderately confident that airplanes are manufactured safely.
“Nobody’s going to put out something that’s going to kill people, I don’t think,” she said, “but Boeing has had a history of problems.”
Kohn is also concerned about maintenance.
“They recycle these planes so quickly,” she said. “It lands, someone goes in and vacuums. I don’t know if they are checking (the planes) as carefully as they should.”
About a quarter of American adults say they travel long-distance by plane at least a few times a year.
These frequent flyers are more likely to have high confidence in all categories than those who fly less frequently: that aircraft are well maintained, safe from structural faults, that air traffic controllers are well trained, that pilots are well trained. trained, that government agencies have implemented the necessary safety regulations and that it is safe from terrorist attacks.
Randi Niedfeldt, a retired physician assistant in Wisconsin, has a lot of confidence in the planes despite the recent incidents. Her husband is a recreational pilot and he checks what type of plane they will fly, but they avoid any specific make or model.
“How many major plane crashes do you hear about?” she asked. “When they happen, they are catastrophic, but they don’t happen that often when you see how much is flown.”
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The survey of 1,152 adults was conducted from January 25 to 29, 2024, using a sample from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points for all respondents.