Commercial aviation had 7 fatal accidents globally in 2024 across 40.6 million flights, according to IATA’s 2024 Annual Safety Report. That works out to roughly one fatal accident for every 5.8 million flights. 2023 was even better: zero hull losses or fatal accidents for passenger jet aircraft (the safest year on record for jets), with one fatal turboprop accident accounting for 72 fatalities.
To put these numbers in context: the five-year average from 2020 to 2024 is one accident for every 810,000 flights. A decade earlier (2011-2015), that same average was one accident for every 456,000 flights. Aviation safety has nearly doubled in reliability over ten years.
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Breaking Down the Numbers
There’s an important distinction between total aircraft accidents and fatal commercial airline accidents. The numbers look very different depending on which you’re measuring:
- All aircraft accidents (US, 2024): About 1,201 accidents involving US-registered civilian aircraft of all types, including small planes, charter, and general aviation. 321 deaths. None of these deaths were on major commercial scheduled airlines.
- Major commercial airline accidents globally (2024): 10 total accidents per IATA, 7 fatal, 244 on-board fatalities. Most occurred outside North America and Europe.
- 2023 commercial jets specifically: Zero fatal accidents. One of the safest years in the history of commercial aviation by multiple measures.
The gap between these numbers matters a lot. When news reports “plane crash,” it’s often small general aviation aircraft, which have meaningfully worse safety records than commercial airliners. The jumbo jet you fly to Europe and the Cessna 172 at the local airstrip are both “aircraft,” but they are not remotely comparable in safety terms.
How Safe Is Commercial Flying, Really?
A 2023 MIT study calculated odds of dying as an airplane passenger at roughly 1 in 13.7 million per flight. For comparison:
- Odds of dying in a car accident: roughly 1 in 101 over a lifetime
- Odds of dying in a commercial plane crash: too small to reliably calculate for US passengers (US major airlines had zero onboard fatalities in 2023 and 2024)
- Odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime: about 1 in 15,000
The US Department of Transportation’s 2024 report confirmed that commercial scheduled air travel remains the safest mode of transportation. In 2023, there were no deaths from crashes on large commercial US airlines. General aviation (private and charter flights) accounted for nearly all aviation fatalities.
Why Is Aviation So Safe?
The safety record isn’t accidental. It’s the product of several overlapping systems:
- Post-accident investigation: Every commercial aviation accident triggers an NTSB or international equivalent investigation. Findings become mandatory safety changes. The industry learns from every failure.
- Redundant systems: Commercial aircraft are designed with multiple backups for every critical system. Engine failure on a twin-engine aircraft is manageable. Hydraulic system failure has backup. Pilots train for both.
- Extensive pilot training: Commercial pilots must log hundreds of hours in simulators running emergency scenarios before ever carrying passengers. Recurrent training happens every six months.
- Regulation: The FAA (and equivalent bodies internationally) set airworthiness standards for aircraft, maintenance requirements, and crew rest rules. Airlines face heavy penalties for non-compliance.
- Air traffic control: Controllers manage aircraft separation, weather routing, and emergency coordination in real time.
Where Do Most Fatal Accidents Happen?
The accident rate varies significantly by region. North America and Europe have the lowest accident rates. Africa historically has had the highest, though IATA reported zero fatal accidents in Africa in 2023 for the second year in a row, a meaningful improvement driven by the IATA Focus Africa safety initiative.
If you’re flying on a major carrier in the US, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, or Singapore, you’re in the safest aviation environment on the planet. Risk increases slightly when flying on smaller regional carriers in countries with weaker aviation oversight.
What About High-Profile Incidents Like 2024?
2024 had several notable incidents that generated significant news coverage: the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 door plug blowout, the Tokyo Haneda runway collision, and the Singapore Airlines severe turbulence event that killed one passenger. None of these resulted in mass-casualty crashes on major commercial airlines. The total onboard fatalities from all major commercial airline accidents globally in 2024 was 244, which is higher than 2023 but still one of the lowest years on record historically.
High-profile news coverage of aviation incidents can create a disproportionate sense of risk. In 2024, US major scheduled airlines had no onboard fatalities, even in a year that generated significant aviation news coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many plane crashes happen per year globally?
In 2024, IATA reported 10 commercial airline accidents globally, 7 of which were fatal. That’s across 40.6 million flights. 2023 had zero fatal jet airline accidents, the best on record for commercial jets.
How likely is it to die in a plane crash?
According to a 2023 MIT study, roughly 1 in 13.7 million per flight globally. For US passengers on major commercial airlines specifically, the odds are even lower, with zero onboard fatalities on US major airlines in both 2023 and 2024.
Are some airlines safer than others?
Yes. Airlines from countries with strong aviation oversight (US, EU, Canada, Australia, Japan) have significantly better safety records than carriers from regions with weaker regulatory infrastructure. AirlineRatings.com and the Aviation Safety Network maintain airline safety databases you can consult before booking.
Why do plane crashes get so much news coverage if they’re so rare?
Because they are rare. An aviation accident is genuinely unusual, which makes it newsworthy in a way that common causes of death (car accidents, heart disease) aren’t. The rarity of crashes is why each one generates intense coverage, which in turn creates a perception of risk that doesn’t match the statistical reality.