How safe is commercial flying?

Question

From a technical perspective, how safe are commercial airplanes?

Answer 1

They are checked obsessively
1) do not listen to El Cupacabra rarely will you find a COMMERCIAL airliner that is 20+ years old - airlines make it a point to keep their fleet modern because it will attract more passengers and promote efficiency and safety - also you will NEVER be able to get a service history of an aircraft (i am a commercial airline pilot and it is even difficult for me to get a service history)
2) Our aircraft are brought to SRTechnicks monthly and overhauled. Also before every flight it is my job to do an aircraft walkaround (i stand in the engines, inspect belly, landing gear, also we do a check from the cockpit that all out board systems are working i.e. rudder, flaps, ect...) also ground crew are to check for any thing of concern along with a ground mechanic - ever had a flight canceled due to mechanical problems...one of us found something.
3)All planes receive safety upgrades as they become available- airlines will not say that safety feature cost too much they are even more concerned about safety then you are.

So don't be afraid...every plane makes scary noises and most of them sound scary, but make the plane safer.

Answer 2

The only commercial airliners that are really over 20 years old I think are the DC-9, which Northwest Airlines is the biggest user of (and I still think those are safe). Most fleets are under 15 years old. But regardless of age of fleets, they are inspected regularly, and pilots are trained and monitored far more closely than "professional" bus drivers, for example.

Basically air travel is far safer than driving or just about any other method of travel. I have heard that more people die in auto accidents than plane crashes. I feel safer on a plane than in a car or even as a pedestrian crossing the street.

Answer 3

Hello!
The majority of the people who step onto a commercial airliner have no knowledge of how this big capsule with wings can get off the ground. Naturally their greatest concern (especially for the fearful flyer) is "what if something goes wrong and we are 33,000 feet off the ground?"
Your chances of being involved in an aircraft accident are about 1 in 11 million. On the other hand, your chances of being killed in an automobile accident are 1 in 5000. Statistically, you are at far greater risk driving to the airport than getting on an airplane. However, the perception is that you have more control over your fate when you are in your car than as a passenger. Experience shows otherwise considering that over 50,000 people are killed on the highways every year.

Media coverage would suggest that such events happen daily. Studies have shown one would have to fly once a day every day for over 15,000 years in order to statistically be involved in an aircraft accident! Yet stories of aircraft accidents are between 150 to 200 times more likely to receive front-page coverage than other more common causes of death. Consequently, fearful flyers develop a negative bias toward flying. That is, they will bias their perception to notice those events and experiences that support their fears. Those fears become validated by the continual bombardment of information related to airline safety following an accident. Who can forget the horrifying coverage of the airplanes flying into the World Trade Center on 9/11 replayed over and over until the major networks agreed it served no purpose to replay the events?

Answer 4

The jitters are through the the media. even as there is an air twist of destiny, it has a tendency to be huge, so receives splashed throughout the front web page. in spite of the indisputable fact that the information teach that commercial flying it the most secure thanks to commute. safer even then walking, far safer then automobiles. Even safer then rail commute. little bit of irony. The flight is actual safer then the pressure to/from the airport. So loosen up and experience.

Answer 5

In the US they are all "relatively safe." You should keep in mind that the planes are mostly 20+ years old and could fail at any moment if they weren't regularly inspected. I would specifically look into the age and records by model.

Answer 6

very safe. what are the chances of getting hot by a car on a quiet road at 3AM?????

NONE!!!

Thats the same for a comercial plane. The major airlines piolots must pass a test like every 3 months or so, so its not a worry!!!!

Answer 7

Air accidents hit the headlines on TV and in the press precisely because they are rare.

Answer 8

Safer than me on the road in a convertible.

Answer 9

they are safer than driving an automobile on the highway.you always hear about every crash but you never hear about all the automobile wrecks.

Answer 10

very