If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen the headlines. A terrifying mid-air collision over the Potomac. A regional jet flipping over in the snow in Toronto. A medical flight going down in Philadelphia. It feels like the sky is falling—literally. But if we look at the actual numbers, the reality of how many plane crashes happen every year is a lot more nuanced than a 30-second news clip.
Honestly, we are living through a weird moment in aviation history.
On one hand, 2023 was arguably the safest year ever recorded for commercial flying. On the other hand, the start of 2025 felt like a statistical anomaly that wouldn't quit. By mid-February 2025, the U.S. had already seen 87 aviation accidents. Compare that to the "golden era" of safety we thought we were in, and it’s enough to make anyone want to stick to Amtrak. But before you cancel your vacation, we need to talk about what "crash" actually means in the eyes of the FAA and IATA.
The Big Number: How Many Planes Actually Go Down?
When people ask about how many plane crashes happen every year, they’re usually thinking about giant Boeings or Airbuses. In reality, the vast majority of accidents happen to planes you’ll never board. We're talking about "General Aviation"—private Cessnas, crop dusters, and small flight school trainers.
Let’s look at the hard data from 2024. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there were 46 total accidents involving commercial aircraft. Only seven of those were fatal. That was out of 40.6 million flights.
Basically, the "all-accident rate" was 1.13 per million flights. To put that in perspective, you’d have to fly every single day for 15,871 years before you’d statistically expect to be in a fatal accident. That’s a lot of tiny bags of pretzels.
2025: A Rough Start to a Safe Decade
While the long-term trend is a downward slope of "less dangerous," 2025 has been a bit of a rollercoaster. ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) noted that while we reached record-breaking traffic volumes—over 37 million departures worldwide in 2024—the accident rate did tick up slightly.
In the first half of 2025, the U.S. saw 623 aviation accidents across all sectors. That sounds like a terrifyingly high number until you realize that 2024 saw 729 in the same period. We are actually improving year-over-year, even if the crashes that do happen are getting more "viral" coverage.
Why Regional Jets Are Having a Moment (For the Wrong Reasons)
If you follow aviation news, you’ve probably noticed the Mitsubishi Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) series has been in the spotlight. The CRJ900, specifically, had a rough run in 2025. We saw accidents ranging from landing gear failures to smoke in the cockpit.
Why regional jets?
It’s not necessarily that the planes are "bad." It’s often about where and how they fly. Regional airlines often hire pilots who are earlier in their career paths. These aircraft also tend to fly shorter hops, which means more takeoffs and landings—the most dangerous parts of any flight. They also land at smaller airports that don't always have the fancy, high-tech navigational aids you’d find at JFK or Heathrow.
The Most Common "Crashes" Aren't What You Think
When we talk about how many plane crashes happen every year, we have to include things that don't result in a fireball. The most common types of accidents in 2024 and 2025 weren't mid-air collisions. They were:
- Tail Strikes: The back of the plane hits the runway during takeoff or landing.
- Runway Excursions: A fancy way of saying the plane slid off the paved part of the runway.
- Turbulence Injuries: This is a big one. ICAO reported that turbulence now accounts for nearly 75% of all serious injuries on planes.
The Weather Problem Nobody Wants to Hear
You can't talk about aviation safety in 2026 without talking about the climate. It’s becoming a genuine operational headache. Extreme weather—storms, heatwaves, and intense clear-air turbulence—is pushing safety margins.
In May 2024, that Singapore Airlines flight that hit extreme turbulence over the Indian Ocean was a wake-up call. The plane dropped 180 feet in one second. One passenger died. It wasn't a mechanical failure; it was nature. Experts are seeing more "unstable approaches" due to gusty winds, leading to those runway excursions I mentioned earlier.
Is Flying Still Safe? The Global Report Card
Despite the headlines, the answer is still a resounding yes. But "where" you fly matters.
North Asia and North America continue to lead in safety audits, while Africa has struggled with a higher accident rate—about 10.59 per million sectors in 2024. However, even there, the fatality risk remained zero for the second year in a row. People are surviving the accidents that do happen because of better cabin engineering and better training.
The Safest Airlines for 2026
If you’re nervous, look at the carriers that consistently top the safety charts. According to AirlineRatings for 2026, the leaders are:
- Etihad Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Qantas
- Air New Zealand
These airlines invest heavily in "Safety Management Systems" (SMS). They don't just fix things when they break; they use data to predict what might break.
Actionable Steps for the Nervous Flyer
Knowing how many plane crashes happen every year is one thing, but feeling safe is another. If you're worried about the stats, there are actual things you can do to lower your personal risk—which is already incredibly low.
First, keep your seatbelt buckled. Always. Even when the sign is off. Since turbulence is the #1 cause of serious injury right now, staying strapped in is the single best thing you can do. Most people injured in those "drops" are the ones who were unbuckled.
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Second, favor direct flights. Most accidents happen during the takeoff and landing phases (the "Critical Eleven" minutes). Fewer stops mean fewer chances for something to go sideways.
Third, choose "mainline" carriers over regional ones if the price is similar. While regional jets are safe, the major airlines (Delta, United, American) generally have more experienced crews and more robust maintenance budgets.
Finally, don't let the "clustering" effect scare you. Humans are hardwired to see patterns. When three planes have issues in one month, our brains tell us the whole system is broken. It’s usually just a statistical cluster in a system that performs 40 million miracles a year. The sky isn't falling; it's just being watched more closely than ever.
Check the safety rating of your next flight's operator on sites like AirlineRatings or the IATA registry. Modern aviation is a data-driven machine, and the data says you're going to be just fine.