Is Flying Safer Than Driving?
Any time an aviation accident occurs, it’s more than likely that at least one newscaster will say something along the lines of, “Though the event is a tragedy, remember that flying is one of the safest forms of travel.” In fact, that reminder has been delivered so often that it is practically taken as a given by much of society.
Nevertheless, it’s important to take the time to determine whether flying is truly safer than, say, driving, or if the shared mindset is just the result of excellent PR.
How Safe Is Flying?
Of course, asking about the safety of flight is also a matter of asking, “How often do planes crash?” According to the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), approximately one accident occurs for every 880,000 flights.
Taking things a step further, it’s also vital to consider the odds of dying in plane crashes. According to the same statistics, only five fatal accidents occurred per year, on average, between 2020 and 2024, which equates to roughly one fatal accident per eight million flights.
The Dangers of Plane Crashes
The above figures suggest that flying is incredibly safe, but they don’t necessarily reveal the entire story.
If you are involved in a car accident, for instance, the likelihood that you will die (or even be catastrophically injured) is quite low. Many car accidents happen at speeds where the chance of serious injury is almost zero as well. And even then, modern vehicles are impressively resilient, often able to protect their occupants at excessively high speeds.
Plane accidents are different; if a plane has left the ground, any accident it gets into is likely to result in catastrophic or fatal injuries. The main reason that so few fatalities occur in plane accidents is that the IATA’s statistics include damage to planes while they are still on the ground, when the risk of injuries is near-zero.
Effectively, that means if a plane experiences a crash or accident once it has left the ground, the likelihood of a fatality is drastically higher than the likelihood of a fatality in a car accident involving a moving vehicle.
Commercial Vs. Private Flights
When people say that flying is safer than driving, they are likely referencing commercial flights, as, despite highly publicized accounts of commercial airplane accidents, they are incredibly rare.
As a matter of fact, accidents are significantly more likely when you get onto a private plane, as they have a fatality rate of approximately one per 100,000 hours of flight time. That may seem like a low rate, but commercial planes experience fatal accidents at an even lower rate.
Private Flights Vs. Driving
How do all of these statistics and rates compare to driving, though? According to South Carolina’s car accident statistics, roughly two deaths occur per 100 million miles driven in the state. At an average speed of 50 miles per hour, that comes out to approximately two million driving hours, or one death per million driving hours.
In other words, that suggests that flying in a private plane, in particular, is roughly ten times as dangerous as driving in a car. That isn’t a significant threat to people who don’t have a pilot’s license, as they are unlikely to ever get into a private plane, but if you do, in fact, fly a private plane roughly as much as you drive your grounded vehicle, your fatality risk is moderately high.
Contact The Fort Mill Car Accident Lawyers At Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys For Help Today
At the end of the day, asking, “Is flying safe, compared to driving?” is a bit complicated. Flights on commercial airplanes are typically safer than rides in personal vehicles, yet flights on private airplanes are more dangerous altogether. Overall, though, all three types of travel are reasonably safe, so long as you take care to adhere to all applicable rules and laws.
For more information, please contact our car accident lawyers in South Carolina and North Carolina at Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys to schedule a free consultation today.
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