Plane crashes are big news. There were 19 fatal crashes during 2016, claiming 325 lives in all. These incidents may help explain why Gallup surveys have shown that roughly a third of all Americans are at least somewhat afraid of flying.
But the data shows that flying today is safer than ever. With 3.5 billion people flying in 2016, the numbers work out to one death for every 10,769,230 passengers. That’s the second-safest year in aviation history — and it’s four times safer than a decade ago, when there was one death for every 2,803,299 passengers.
All 10 of the safest years in air travel have occurred in the last 13 years. As recently as the 1990s, crashes were seven times more likely than they are today.
|
Safest years in aviation history
|
|
Deaths per total passengers flown
|
|
1 (safest year)
|
2013
|
One per 11,501,886
|
|
2
|
2016
|
One per 10,769,230
|
|
3
|
2015
|
One per 6,144,642
|
|
4
|
2012
|
One per 6,079,831
|
|
5
|
2011
|
One per 5,318,702
|
|
6
|
2008
|
One per 3,755,102
|
|
7
|
2004
|
One per 3,478,821
|
|
8
|
2014
|
One per 3,253,791
|
|
9
|
2009
|
One per 2,960,526
|
|
10
|
2007
|
One per 2,803,299
|
|
Source: The Telegraph
|
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia. Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
Scott Rasmussen is a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at the King’s College in New York and an Editor-At-Large for Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics. His most recent book, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not," was published by the Sutherland Institute in May.To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.