Advertisement
Boeing mishaps, Singapore Airlines turbulence spark flight safety jitters
- US Google searches for aviation safety have hit the highest level in a decade following a string of headline-grabbing airline accidents this year
- American regulator the FAA sought to calm fliers’ nerves, saying ‘aviation is the safest way to travel and that’s because we never take anything for granted’
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A spate of high-profile airline accidents this year have left a lasting impression on the public.
Advertisement
There was the fiery Japan Airlines runway collision on January 2, followed days later by the Boeing Co. door-plug blowout. From lost wheels to a turbulent Singapore Airlines flight this week, the headline-grabbing events have left the flying public to wonder whether it’s still safe to fly.
The reality, statistics show, remains that getting on a Boeing or Airbus SE jetliner is still exponentially safer than the drive to the airport. Last year, there wasn’t a single fatality among the 37 million commercial airline flights.
While 2024 won’t match that record, it’s been an average year in terms of airline safety. Yet public perception remains jittery. US web searches for “flight safety” hit the highest level in March since October 2014, according to Google Trends.
That year a decade ago was a particularly bad one for aviation fatalities. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in March was followed by the shooting down of the same carrier’s flight 17 over Ukraine in July and an AirAsia crash in December.
Advertisement
The accidents this year have caused far fewer fatalities than in early 2014 or in 2019, when the second of two Boeing 737 Max flights crashed in March, killing 157 people in Ethiopia.
Advertisement