If you’ve been scrolling through your news feed lately, it feels like the sky is literally falling. Every other week, there’s a headline about a mid-air collision, an engine catching fire on a runway, or a tragic accident in some corner of the globe. It’s enough to make even the most frequent flyer want to cancel their vacation and just drive.
Honestly, the numbers coming out of 2025 and the start of 2026 look a bit jarring on paper. According to data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the global accident rate ticked up recently. We saw 95 accidents in 2024 compared to just 66 the year before. That’s a jump that gets people talking. Then you have high-profile tragedies like the Potomac River mid-air collision in early 2025 or the UPS MD-11 crash in Louisville late last year, and it starts to feel like a trend rather than a fluke.
But before you swear off flying forever, there is a lot of nuance behind that "why is there so many plane crashes lately" search query. The truth is a messy mix of statistical clusters, a massive post-pandemic hiring spree, and the simple fact that we are flying more planes than ever before.
The Post-Pandemic "Experience Gap"
One of the biggest factors nobody likes to talk about is the loss of "tribal knowledge." When the pandemic hit, the aviation industry didn't just slow down—it hemorrhaged experienced people. Thousands of senior pilots and master mechanics took early retirement.
When travel roared back in 2024 and 2025, airlines had to hire at a breakneck pace. This created what safety experts call an "experience gap." You have younger pilots in the cockpit and newer mechanics on the hangar floor. They’re highly trained, sure, but they don't have twenty years of "I’ve seen this weird engine rattle before" under their belts.
Human error remains the king of crash causes, contributing to roughly 70% to 80% of all accidents. In 2024 and 2025, we saw a rise in "runway incursions"—basically, planes almost hitting each other on the ground. That’s usually a sign of fatigue or communication breakdowns. The FAA even had to issue emergency orders to reduce flights at high-impact airports in late 2025 because air traffic controller staffing was stretched too thin. When the people keeping the planes apart are tired and overworked, the margin for error shrinks.
Aging Fleets and "Zombie" Planes
There is a supply chain crisis that has been quietly simmering for years. Boeing and Airbus have massive backlogs, meaning airlines can't get new planes fast enough. To keep up with record-breaking passenger demand in 2026, companies are keeping older planes in the air way longer than they intended.
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Take the MD-11 cargo crash in Louisville. The NTSB recently pointed to a "progressive fatigue failure" in an engine pylon bearing. That's a fancy way of saying a part on an old plane finally snapped. These older "legacy" aircraft require more intensive maintenance, but the industry is currently short about 12,000 to 18,000 mechanics in North America alone.
It’s a bad math problem:
- More flights than ever.
- Older planes that need more love.
- Fewer experienced mechanics to do the work.
When you add those up, you start to see why "technical failures" are creeping up in the stats.
The "Cluster" Effect and Media Perception
Humans are hardwired to find patterns, even when they don't exist. This is what statisticians call "Poisson distribution" or, more simply, "clumping." You can go a year with zero major accidents, and then have three in a single month. It feels like a surge, but over a ten-year window, it’s often just a statistical blip.
There’s also the "Newsroom Effect." In early 2025, after a few high-profile incidents, every minor "emergency landing" started making the front page. Usually, a pilot landing safely because of a wonky sensor wouldn't even make the local news. But when people are already asking why there are so many plane crashes lately, every smell of smoke in a cabin becomes a viral TikTok.
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Unpredictable Skies: The Weather Factor
We can't ignore that the atmosphere itself is getting punchier. ICAO reported that turbulence now accounts for nearly three-quarters of all serious in-flight injuries. Clear-air turbulence—the kind you can't see on radar—is becoming more frequent and severe.
It’s not just the bumps, though. Increasingly erratic weather patterns lead to more "Loss of Control" incidents and "Controlled Flight Into Terrain" (CFIT). In July 2025, an Antonov An-24 crashed into a mountain in Russia during a poor-weather approach. As we push more flights into tighter schedules, the pressure to land in "marginal" weather increases, and sometimes, that pressure leads to a fatal mistake.
Geopolitical Friction and GPS Jamming
This is a weird one that most people don't realize. Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) interference—basically GPS spoofing or jamming—has increased by over 200% in the last few years.
Because of conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, military jamming is leaking into civilian flight paths. Pilots have reported their navigation systems showing them miles away from where they actually are. While modern airliners have backups, this adds a massive layer of "mental load" to a pilot during the most dangerous parts of a flight.
What This Means for Your Next Flight
Despite the scary headlines, you have to look at the scale. In 2024, there were over 37 million departures. If there were 95 accidents, the math still says aviation is ridiculously safe. You are still statistically more likely to get hurt in the Uber ride to the airport than on the Boeing 737 taking you to Orlando.
However, "safe" doesn't mean "perfect." The industry is currently in a massive "reset" phase where they are trying to fix the staffing shortages and tighten up the manufacturing lapses that plagued companies like Boeing over the last couple of years.
Actionable Steps for Nervous Travelers
If the recent news has you on edge, there are a few practical things you can do to stay safe (and feel more in control):
1. Fly the "Mainline" and Big Hubs
Statistics show that major commercial carriers have significantly lower accident rates than "General Aviation" (small private planes) or small regional commuters. If you have the choice, stick to the major airlines and larger airports that have the best radar and emergency response coverage.
2. Watch the "Safety Briefing" (Seriously)
Most injuries lately are from turbulence. If the "Fasten Seatbelt" sign is on, stay buckled. Even if it's off, keep the belt loosely fastened while you're in your seat. Most people injured in 2025 accidents were those who weren't strapped in when the plane hit a sudden "air pocket."
3. Choose Morning Flights
Weather-related delays and severe turbulence are statistically less common in the morning. Thunderstorms usually build up in the afternoon as the ground heats up. Plus, crews are generally fresher at the start of their shift.
4. Use Apps to Track Your Plane
Use tools like FlightRadar24 or FlightAware to see the history of the specific plane you’re boarding. If you see it’s a 25-year-old airframe and that makes you nervous, you can often change your flight or at least know what to expect.
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The spike in accidents isn't a sign that flying is "broken," but it is a loud wake-up call for the industry. Regulation is already tightening, and the FAA’s move to mandate more rest for controllers and stricter inspections for older planes is the first step in bringing those numbers back down to the historic lows we saw in the 2010s.
Next Steps to Stay Informed
- Check the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) official website for preliminary reports on recent incidents to get the facts before they get hyped by the media.
- Review the FAA's Safety Management System (SMS) updates to see how they are forcing manufacturers to improve quality control on new aircraft.
- Monitor the IATA (International Air Transport Association) yearly safety reports for a global perspective on which regions are currently seeing the most improvement in safety standards.