Dramatic video of frightened passengers bracing for impact during emergency landings, airplanes crashing onto highways, buildings and fields, and social media posts showing firsthand perspectives of people frantically escaping down emergency slides — it seems like lately there has been a steady stream of a plane or helicopter mishaps grabbing our attention.
But are more plane incidents actually happening? According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the short answer is “No.” Investigations for plane accidents this year are down, but recent high-profile events and dramatic videos have put aviation safety in the spotlight.
It had been 16 years since the last major commercial airline crash in the U.S. before an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided over the Potomac River at Reagan National Airport in Washington in January, killing all 67 people on the two aircraft.
MORE: Wingtip of one plane hits another on taxiway at Reagan airport: FAA
In the days and weeks that followed, in separate incidents, there were flight diversions because of smoke in the cabin, the fiery crash of a medical flight into a Philadelphia neighborhood, planes clipping wings on the ground, the Delta crash in Toronto where an airliner ended up on its back in flames, and a number of private small plane crashes around the country.
But while these incidents have raised concerns about aviation safety, data from the NTSB — the agency tasked with investigating all civil aviation accidents and major incidents — shows that the number of aviation accidents is down nearly 10% so far this year compared to the same period last year: From Jan. 1 through April 20, 2024, the NTSB investigated 275 aviation accidents in the United States. During the same period this year, that number is 250.
It’s not just commercial aviation under the spotlight — fiery small plane crashes are also drawing significant attention. Earlier this month, six people were killed when a family’s small plane crashed into a field in upstate New York. In late March, a pilot — the only person onboard died after crashing his single-engine plane in a residential area in Minnesota. In a separate incident also last month, five people were injured when a small plane crashed near a retirement village near Lancaster, Pennsylvania after its door opened shortly after takeoff.
Although these tragic events make national headlines, the data shows small plane crashes have dropped significantly over the last two decades.
MORE: Air traffic control room fight at Reagan National Airport leads to arrest
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has repeatedly emphasized that flying is safe.
“If the airspace wasn’t safe, the FAA would shut it down. So no, the airspace is safe,” Duffy said in a February interview with Fox News. “Air travel is the safest form of travel in the country. So you can travel and feel good about it on American airplanes.”
According to NTSB data, there were 1,006 single-engine plane accidents in the United States investigated by the agency in 2024, the lowest number since 2006, excluding 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted air travel.
NTSB data also shows that last year was the lowest number of helicopter fatalities in the United States since at least 2007, with 15.
“We kind of are very lucky in this country to have such a safe aviation system, and I think it’s because of the regulatory framework with the FAA, our close partnership with industry in the FAA, and all the technological advancements and improvements in training and awareness to the pilots, so that whole system is working,” said Mike Ginter, senior vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Air Safety Institute. “So I’d say it’s normal to be a little nervous about it now, but I would encourage people to look at the data.”
Why does it seem like there are so many small plane crashes?
There are significantly more general aviation aircraft flying than commercial ones.
According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, there were 7,572 commercial aircraft and 209,703 general aviation or civilian-owned aircraft in the United States in 2023.
“So we have far more airplanes, far more pilots. So you would imagine that the data would extrapolate out to maybe we would see slightly more number of accidents in the NTSB dataset,” Ginter told ABC. “The most important thing, though, is the accident rate has been going down for 30 years.”
There are cameras everywhere
Another reason we are seeing what feels like an uptick in these incidents is because we live in a digital era. It only takes a few seconds for a dramatic photo or video to go viral.
“Despite the terrible fatal accidents we have seen this year, 2025 has actually been safer than 2024 so far. The difference is in public perception. Everyone has the ability to record high resolution video on their smartphone and so every incident is dramatically captured,” said Steve Ganyard, an ABC News aviation contributor and former Marine Corps colonel and fighter pilot.
Additionally, more homes and businesses are equipped with doorbell cameras and other home surveillance equipment, making it far easier to capture when an incident happens and share them with the world.
Some of the technological and internet advancements over the years have also helped make aviation safer.
“Pilots are also much better connected than we were when I started flying 45 years ago because of the internet, the web, electronic flight bags, you can go out and like even last night, we’re able to look at weather cameras to see if it’s safe to fly in a particular area, beyond what we could get from automated weather stations,” Chris Baur, CEO of Hughes Aerospace Corporation and a retired military aviator told ABC.
Rigorous safety requirements for planes and pilots
Despite the increased visibility of aviation incidents, experts emphasize that rigorous rules are in place for both commercial and general aviation pilots. For pilots flying smaller aircraft and helicopters, protocols are similar to those operating commercial planes, experts said.
MORE: Right main landing gear collapsed on impact in fiery Toronto plane crash: Preliminary report
“I have to get a very specific number of flight hours, pass a written test and then a check ride,” Ginter said. “And that check ride is fairly grueling, and then at the end of my private pilot license, for example, every two years, I have to take another check ride with a certified flight instructor. It’s called a flight review.”
The FAA requires helicopter and small-aircraft pilots to undergo a medical exam every two to three years. This includes a full-body physical, vision, hearing and blood pressure tests to ensure they are fit to fly. It also requires that their aircraft go through inspections to ensure airworthiness.
“Every year, every aircraft has to go through a very extensive annual inspection, a maintenance inspection that has to be done by a certified airframe and power plant mechanic,” Ginter said. “So that’s far more stringent than what it takes to drive a car and and I think those regulatory frameworks have have been focused so well over the decades that it’s kept aviation safe, and it’s really a driver to why general aviation has been getting safer for 30 years.”
Experts stressed that aviation remains the safest form of travel in the United States. According to the FAA, more than 45,000 flights — including cargo and other aircraft — and more than 2.9 million passengers move through the country’s 29 million square miles of national airspace each day — nearly all of them arriving without incident.
Jennifer Homendy, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, routinely says flying is safer than driving to the airport.
“Aviation is incredibly safe,” Homendy said while presenting the preliminary report on the D.C. crash. “[Reagan National] is where I always fly out of. I say often that your biggest risk is in your personal vehicle when you’re going to and from the aircraft at the airport. Aviation is safe.”
-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
Are there more plane incidents recently or does it just seem that way? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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