TheaterFire

Are airplane crashes becoming more common or just better reported in the news?

Posted by supinator1@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 5 comments

Maybe I'm just paying more attention after the Boeing stuff being widely reported in the news.

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5 Comments

Accurate-Ad-6504@reddit

Seems to be an increase in incidents: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2026/01/26/aviation-fatalities-hit-7-year-high-in-2025-aviation-safety-network/
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SkyHighExpress@reddit

They are more common than before the wright brothers first fight
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Far_Breakfast_5808@reddit

Well, there were plane crashes before December 17, 1903, if you include glider crashes and other early unsuccessful attempts.
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JKzkars@reddit

This math works out.
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Far_Breakfast_5808@reddit

It's the latter. Whenever a plane crash happens, news outlets become super focused on reporting aviation incidents. In reality, commercial aviation incidents are extremely rare. Even when we have high profile ones, like the DCA collision or the Air India crash, these are by far the exception, not the rule. Thousands of flights take off and land every single day without incident, commercial aviation crashes are usually in the single digits *per year*. On the other hand, general aviation crashes, like the private jet crashes you keep seeing in the news lately, are more common, but still relatively rare. It's often said that you're more likely to die on the way to the airport than in a crash, and that is true regardless of if it's commercial or general aviation.
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