Most American adults believe that air travel in the United States is generally safe, although there are some questions about whether aircraft are properly maintained and free of structural problems.
About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say flying is a “very” or “somewhat” safe way to travel, according to a new poll by Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center. Even with such high levels of confidence, only 10 American adults have “good enough” confidence that the plane is properly maintained and free of structural defects. Only about 2 people. The other half “moderately” believe this to be the case.
The poll was then conducted Accident on January 5th The accident blew off a panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet at 16,000 feet (4,900 meters) over Oregon, leaving a large hole in the side of the plane. The move grounded more than 140 planes and raised questions about Boeing's ongoing manufacturing problems and the Federal Aviation Administration's ability to address them.
U.S. adults have more confidence in the ability of airline pilots and air traffic controllers to keep aviation safe than they do in commercial airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and federal agencies. The majority are at least moderately confident that each is secure.
For some people who are afraid of flying, the Alaska Airlines incident has made them even more concerned.
“I don't like flying. It's very unnatural. We're flying in a metal tube,” reads the account of the jetliner crash, which did not cause any serious injuries. said Margaret Burke of Pensacola, Florida. “The fact that people are flying safely every day seems like a miracle to me.”
Despite her concerns, Burke plans to fly to California this spring, citing the speed and convenience of air travel.
“I have a 3-year-old and I can't put him in a car seat for three days in a row. It's just not fair,” she said.
Even if there are maintenance concerns, U.S. adults have high levels of confidence that airline pilots and air traffic controllers are adequately trained and engage in proper safety procedures. . Just under half (45%) have “a great deal” of confidence in pilot training, while 38% have confidence in air traffic controllers.
About a quarter of U.S. adults have high confidence that air travel is safe from terrorist attacks or that government agencies have enacted the necessary safety regulations. Despite variations, a majority of U.S. adults are at least “somewhat” confident that airplanes are safe, pilots are well-trained, and regulations are adequate.
According to the US, that's likely because planes are much safer on a mile-for-mile basis than cars, and also safer than train travel. Ministry of Transport figures.
Airlines officials and aviation regulators like to point out that, although there was one in 2018, there have been no fatal crashes on U.S. airliners since 2009. Passenger killed on Southwest Airlines flight The number of close calls federal authorities are investigating has skyrocketed over the past year after engine explosions.
Shelley Cohn, a former English literature teacher in Pennsylvania, thinks it's generally safe to fly — “I would fly” — but she doesn't think flying is safe. I'm one of those people who has only moderate confidence that it's being manufactured.
“I don’t think anyone would put out something that would kill someone,” she said. “But Boeing has had a history of problems.”
Cohn is also concerned about maintenance.
“They recycle planes very quickly,” she says. “When it lands, someone goes in and vacuums it. I don't know if they check (the plane) any more carefully than they should.”
About a quarter of U.S. adults say they fly at least several times a year to travel long distances.
Frequent flyers are more likely than infrequent flyers to believe that planes are well maintained, safe from structural defects, and that air traffic controllers are well trained. You're likely to have a lot of confidence in everything, including that your pilot is well-trained. Government agencies have established the necessary safety regulations and are trained to be safe from acts of terrorism.
Randy Nietfeld, a former physician's assistant in Wisconsin, has great faith in airplanes despite recent accidents. Her husband is a recreational pilot who checks the types of planes he flies, but he doesn't avoid certain makes or models.
“How many major plane crashes have you heard about?” she asked. “It would be a disaster if that happened, but it doesn't happen often given the volume of flights.”
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The poll of 1,152 adults was conducted between January 25 and 29, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It was implemented. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
