Are Airplane Crashes Increasing? Global Trends, Risks & Your Legal Rights

Recent events – from the Jeju Air crash in south korea to the mid-air collision over the potomac river – have reignited safety concerns for millions of travelers. With dramatic headlines dominating news cycles, it’s natural to wonder: are airplane crashes increasing? The short answer is no. But the full picture involves decades of data, important distinctions between commercial and general aviation accidents, and legal rights you should know about if the worst happens.

Key Takeaways

Aviation accidents are not increasing overall. The global accident rate per flight hour has continued to fall across three decades, even though a few major incidents keep safety concerns in the public eye. Commercial airplane crashes are not increasing in the long term.

• Commercial air travel remains the safest form of mass transportation. The accidental fatality rate for commercial aviation is one per 13.7 million passengers – far lower than driving, where the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash are one in 93.
• Data from ICAO, IATA, and EASA confirm that 2023 recorded the lowest number of commercial aviation accidents in modern history, and the aviation accident rate has been declining for three decades.
• General aviation aircraft were involved in 78% of crashes, meaning small private planes – not scheduled airlines – drive most accident statistics.
• Some regions, including south korea, have improved aviation safety significantly over the last two decades through regulatory reform and modernization.
• If you or a family member has been injured in an air crash or suffered a serious inflight injury, you may be entitled to compensation. Legal options are discussed later in this article.

Is the Number of Airplane Crashes Actually Increasing?

The core question requires a critical distinction: are we talking about the total count of plane crashes, or the accident rate per million flights or flight hours?

Globally, the accident rate for commercial air travel has declined steadily since the 1990s, reaching record lows around 2017 and again in 2023. In 2023, the all-accident rate dropped to 0.80 accidents per million sectors – roughly one accident per 1.26 million flights.

Media coverage of dramatic major incidents can create the perception that aviation crashes are rising. A single high-fatality plane crash dominates weeks of coverage, even when the broader data shows the opposite trend. Up to 80% of aviation accidents are attributed to human error, yet each crash receives outsized attention relative to the millions of safe flights completed daily.

General aviation – small private planes, air taxis, and flight schools – still accounts for the majority of air accidents, while scheduled airlines flight operations see very few fatal crashes. The number of total U.S. civil aviation accidents slightly decreased from 1,216 to 1,201 in recent reporting periods.

Pandemic-related fluctuations in air travel from 2020–2022 make simple year-to-year comparisons misleading. Long-term trends are far more reliable for judging whether air crashes are genuinely increasing.

Global Aviation Accident Trends: 2000–2025

Aviation safety has improved markedly since 2000. Fewer fatal accidents and a lower accident rate define the era – despite massive growth in worldwide air travel. Accident rates for commercial aircraft have declined significantly since the 1990s.

Key trend points to understand:

• Early 2000s: Higher fatal aircraft accidents; multiple hull losses per year in commercial operations.
• 2010s: Strong safety gains driven by better avionics, training standards, and regulatory oversight. The annual fatalities figure was less than 1,000 for ten consecutive years from 2007 to 2020.
• 2017 and 2023: The world recorded some of the lowest airline fatality numbers since World War II. The lowest number of aviation fatalities since WWII was 399 in 2017.

While the number of flights worldwide rose significantly before COVID-19, fatal aviation accidents did not rise in proportion. The total fatalities due to aviation accidents since 1970 are 83,772 – a sobering number, but one that reflects a steadily declining rate per flight hour across that same period.

Aircraft accidents involving large commercial jets are now rare events, though non-fatal incidents, runway excursions, and minor air crashes continue – particularly in smaller aircraft categories.

Recent Aviation Safety Data: 2017–2025

This section provides a year-by-year snapshot to show whether aviation crashes are actually increasing in the most recent period.

The year 2017 had the lowest aviation fatalities since World War II, with only 399 fatalities worldwide and fewer than 170 qualifying incidents. In 2018–2019, tragic major incidents such as the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes – where pilot error, insufficient training, and design flaws converged as contributing factors – raised public alarm. However, overall accident rates still remained historically low when measured per million flights.

In 2020, COVID-19 sharply reduced air travel, causing an artificial drop in accident numbers. As flights resumed in 2021–2022, raw accident counts rebounded without a corresponding spike in the accident rate.

In 2023, commercial aviation had the lowest number of accidents on modern record. Preliminary 2024–2025 figures confirm that airplane crashes are not increasing overall, though aviation fatalities hit a seven-year high in 2025 due to several large crashes. In 2025, there were 623 aviation accidents in the US alone. The US had 729 aviation accidents from January to July 2024.

Last year, total civil aviation deaths decreased from 327 to 321, and fatalities increased in 2025 due to several large crashes – not a broader systemic failure.

Sample Accident Rate Table: 2017–2025 (Illustrative)

Year	Global Commercial Flights (approx.)	Accident Rate per Million Flights	Notable Context
2017	~35 million	~1.08	Safest year since WWII
2019	~39 million	~1.13	737 MAX crashes raised concern
2020	~16 million	~1.20	Pandemic reduced traffic
2021	~22 million	~1.15	Recovery began
2023	~37 million	~0.80	Record low accident rate
2025	~38.7 million	~1.32	Fatalities up; rate still low

Source: Figures based on published IATA and ICAO summaries, rounded for clarity. Trends, not precise counts, are the focus.

Despite fluctuations in absolute accident numbers, the long-term accident rate continues to decrease. Perceived increases in plane crashes are not backed by accident rate data.

Accident Rate vs Fatalities: Why Headlines Can Mislead

Understanding air travel risk requires separating “number of accidents” from “number of deaths.” Both matter, but they tell different stories about aviation safety.

In some years – such as 2018–2019 and 2025 – a few major incidents cause a spike in fatalities even though the total count of aviation accidents stays stable or declines. Consider this: the air india crash involving a Boeing 787-8 in June 2025 killed approximately 260 people on board died in that single event, raising the global death toll dramatically. One such aviation incident can outweigh dozens of minor aviation accidents with no fatalities.

Safety agencies focus on accident rate per million flights, which for commercial jets remains approximately 0.17 fatal events per million flights. The fatality rate per passenger is extraordinarily low. A high-fatality year does not automatically mean air accidents are increasing – it means a small number of tragic major incidents occurred within an otherwise safe system.

Mechanics failure contributes to approximately 21% of aviation accidents, while pilot decision-making and communication errors significantly contribute to aviation incidents. Improper maintenance also contributes to aviation incidents, and these contributing factors are analyzed after every serious incident to prevent recurrence.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Skewed Aviation Statistics

COVID-19 created an exceptional dip in global air travel starting in early 2020, which complicates trend analysis for anyone asking whether aviation crashes are increasing.

Total aviation accidents dropped in 2020 because airline schedules were cut and many aircraft were grounded, making that year a statistical outlier. As air travel recovered in 2021 and 2022, accident numbers rose compared to 2020, but the accident rate per flight hour remained low.

The accident rate was 4.8 per 100,000 flight hours in 2021 and 2022, consistent with steady safety performance. FAA and EASA data confirm rates around or below this benchmark during the recovery period.

Readers – and juries – should not misinterpret post-pandemic increases in absolute crash numbers as evidence that air crashes are generally increasing. The same period saw hundreds of millions of additional flights compared to 2020.

When and Where Do Most Aircraft Accidents Occur?

Most aviation accidents cluster during specific flight phases and in particular types of operations, rather than being evenly spread across all flights involved in daily global schedules.

• Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous phases of flight. Nearly half of all aviation crashes occur during landing or takeoff, when pilot workload is highest and aircraft are at low altitude with configuration changes underway.
• Cruise-phase accidents are relatively rare in modern commercial aviation. When they do occur – such as controlled flight into terrain or mid air collisions – they tend to be highly fatal major incidents.
• Environmental factors contribute to about 11% of aviation incidents. Adverse weather conditions, mountainous terrain, and congested same airspace environments all influence where serious incidents are more likely.
• Deliberate action – such as the malaysia airlines Flight 17 shootdown over eastern ukraine – falls outside normal safety statistics but can dominate death toll figures in a given year.

General aviation aircraft – private planes, air taxis, medical flights involving aircraft like those where five passengers and six crew members may be on board – regularly account for more than half of aviation accidents in the United States and many countries.

Commercial vs General Aviation: Different Risk Profiles

Scheduled commercial air travel and general aviation have fundamentally different accident patterns.

Commercial airlines operate under the strictest aviation safety rules, with professional flight crew teams including a co pilot, advanced avionics, and rigorous maintenance. The global commercial airline accident rate is roughly one accident per 750,000 flights. Fatal accident risk is about 0.17 fatal events per million flights.

General aviation operations may involve older aircraft, single pilots, limited instrumentation, and less structured training. Fatal accident rates for general aviation were 0.721 per 100,000 flight hours in 2024. General aviation aircraft were involved in 78% of crashes – confirming that while most headline-grabbing plane crashes involve passenger jets, the majority of aviation accidents arise from small aircraft operations.

An in flight fire, mechanical failure, or adverse weather conditions on a small private plane en route to a regional field presents a very different risk profile than a commercial flight. Readers injured in either commercial or general aviation accidents may have legal claims, but the liability analysis and responsible parties differ significantly between the two categories.

Regional Perspectives: US, Europe, and South Korea

Regional aviation safety performance varies, but advanced markets like the US, Europe, and south korea generally maintain strong safety records.

United States: The national transportation safety board and the federal aviation administration track all incidents. NTSB and FAA data from 1990–2025 show a long-term decline in fatal airline accidents. The number of total U.S. civil aviation accidents slightly decreased recently, and general aviation accidents remain the primary concern. The 2025 american airlines CRJ-700 collision over the potomac river – where a military helicopter and a passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff – killed 67 people. Such events are outliers but draw massive attention.

Europe: EASA‘s Annual Aviation Safety Review consistently reports low commercial air transport accident rates. In 2024, European commercial operations saw only three fatal accidents totaling three fatalities.

South Korea: From a troubled safety record in the 1990s, south korea has become a strong regional performer through sustained reform.

Spotlight on South Korea’s Aviation Safety Progress

South Korea is a useful case study in improving aviation safety after earlier aircraft accidents raised serious public concern.

In the 1980s–1990s, notable incidents involving korean air flight operations drew international scrutiny. In 1999, Korean Air’s safety record was declared “an embarrassment to the nation” by the country’s president, and the directorate general of civil aviation oversight was reformed.

Reforms included:

1. Overhauled pilot training programs addressing insufficient training gaps
2. Fleet modernization with newer aircraft
3. Advanced air traffic controllers and ATC system upgrades
4. Adherence to ICAO standards and participation in regional safety initiatives

By the 2010s and early 2020s, South Korea’s commercial aviation sector recorded relatively few major incidents compared to traffic volumes. There were no fatal commercial air transport accidents in eleven years – until the Jeju Air Flight 2216 disaster in December 2024, the deadliest aviation disaster in Korean history. This tragedy involved aircraft landing at Muan international airport, where runway infrastructure and localizer equipment came under investigation.

This pattern shows how countries can move from a troubling safety record to one aligned with the world’s safest aviation systems through sustained regulatory and aviation industry changes.

Why Air Travel Is Still Considered Safe

Comparing aviation safety with other travel modes puts the data in perspective. Air travel has 0.01 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, while train travel has 0.04 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. The odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash are one in 93 – making flying dramatically safer on a per-mile basis.

Modern airliners include advanced flight envelope protections and safety systems – terrain awareness, stall prevention, redundant hydraulics, and more. Strict maintenance intervals and intensive training regimes are all focused on preventing aircraft accidents and managing emergencies, including scenarios like emergency landing procedures and cargo hold depressurization.

International systems like ICAO Annex 13, EASA reviews, and the GADSS tracking framework work together to identify risks, share lessons, and reduce air crash likelihood. While no system can eliminate the possibility of a plane crash – as the air india flight tragedy and the malaysia airlines MH370 disappearance over four flights of search operations showed – engineering, regulation, and data-driven oversight keep risk at historically low levels.

Key Safety Systems and Investigative Bodies

Global safety infrastructure underpins the low aviation accident rates we see today.

• ASRS (Aviation Safety Reporting System): Collects voluntary reports from pilots and air traffic controllers, helping identify safety concerns before they result in aircraft accidents.
• GADSS (Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System): Adopted by ICAO in 2016, enhances tracking so scenarios like MH370 – where two planes of the same type vanished or were destroyed – are less likely.
• Key investigation agencies: The NTSB (US), BEA (France), BFU (Germany), and AAIB (UK) conduct independent inquiries after major incidents. Their final reports drive changes in training, aircraft design, and regulations.

Findings from investigations – whether the probable cause is pilot error, mechanical failure, or air traffic control lapses – are fed back into the system, preventing repeat accidents and steadily improving aviation safety.

What Happens After an Aviation Accident? Investigations & Legal Rights

Every significant air crash triggers parallel processes: a safety investigation to prevent future aviation accidents, and potential civil claims to compensate victims and families.

Typical investigative steps after a major plane crash include:

1. Securing the crash site
2. Recovering flight recorders from the aircraft or cargo hold area
3. Interviewing witnesses and reviewing crew members’ communications
4. Analyzing maintenance records, ATC tapes, and weather conditions
5. Publishing preliminary and final reports (often 12–24 months later)

While investigators focus on safety, injured passengers and families must protect their legal rights early. Statutes of limitation can bar claims if victims wait too long. Board survived passengers and families of those who board died face different legal paths.

Main potential defendants in an aviation accident case include:

• Airlines and their operations teams
• Aircraft manufacturers and component suppliers
• Maintenance contractors responsible for flights involved
• Air traffic control providers
• Government regulatory bodies

Proving liability in aircraft accidents is complex, often requiring aviation experts, reconstruction specialists, and careful review of official accident reports and technical data. Serious injuries and wrongful deaths demand experienced legal counsel.

Compensation After a Plane Crash or Inflight Injury

Victims may be entitled to compensation even without a headline plane crash. Injuries from turbulence, hard landings, or in-cabin incidents – where the aviation incident occurred during otherwise normal flying – qualify for claims.

Types of damages potentially available include:

• Medical expenses and ongoing treatment
• Lost income and diminished earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of companionship for families
• Punitive damages in cases of gross negligence

International flights are often governed by treaties like the Montreal Convention, which impose special rules on airline liability. The air flight’s origin and destination determine which legal framework applies.

Early consultation with experienced aviation counsel is crucial to preserve evidence, identify all liable parties, and evaluate realistic settlement or litigation strategies.

Conclusion: Are Airplane Crashes Increasing, and What Should You Do Next?

Despite prominent headlines, global data from 2000–2025 show a long-term decline in commercial aviation accident rates. Airplane crashes are not increasing overall. The safest form of mass transportation continues to get safer, with fatal accident risk at historically low levels.

Most aviation accidents now occur in general aviation and during takeoff or landing, while scheduled airline travel remains exceptionally safe. But serious incidents still happen – and can cause devastating injuries and wrongful deaths.

If you’ve been injured in an air crash or suffered an inflight injury:

1. Document the incident thoroughly
2. Seek immediate medical attention
3. Contact specialized aviation counsel as soon as possible

For personalized legal advice after any aircraft accident, contact a qualified aviation attorney or visit RESQ.COM.

FAQs About Are Airplane Crashes Increasing

Are small planes more dangerous than commercial airliners?

Yes, statistically. General aviation aircraft typically have higher accident rates than large commercial jets. Fatal accident rates for general aviation were 0.721 per 100,000 flight hours in 2024, while commercial airlines operate at a fraction of that risk. Factors like single-pilot operations, older equipment, and less stringent oversight contribute to this gap – though many small-plane flights are completed safely every day.

Can turbulence alone cause a plane to crash?

Modern airliners are engineered to withstand severe turbulence, and pure turbulence-related structural failures are extremely rare. However, turbulence can cause serious injuries to unrestrained passengers and crew members. Seatbelt usage during flight remains the single most effective protection against turbulence-related harm.

Is flying really safer than driving?

On a per-mile basis, air travel has 0.01 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, compared to significantly higher rates for automobiles. The odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash are one in 93, while the accidental fatality rate for commercial aviation is one per 13.7 million passengers. Major studies consistently confirm that flying is far safer than driving.

Which seat is the safest on an airplane?

No seat can be guaranteed safest in every air crash scenario. Some analyses of past accidents suggest slightly higher survival rates in seats near the rear of the cabin and close to exits. However, with the overall risk of a fatal crash already extremely low, seat choice is far less important than other safety factors like wearing your seatbelt.

How long do aviation accident investigations usually take?

Preliminary findings may be released within weeks, but full aviation accident reports from agencies like the national transportation safety board or BEA often take 12–24 months. Many final reports are delayed even longer – IATA notes that roughly half of recent accidents have missing final reports. Legal claims can proceed in parallel while investigations are ongoing.