More travelers hesitant to fly after recent high-profile crashes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Some travelers said they’re hesitant to fly after a string of recent high-profile crashes. Although aviation experts – and the numbers – paint a very different picture.

The backstory:

Recent crashes have some would-be flyers feeling anxious about hopping on a plane.

They include the crash that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan National Airport in January, a deadly medical jet crash in Philadelphia later that week. Earlier this week, planes clipped wings, again, at Reagan, there was a deadly helicopter crash in the Hudson River on Thursday, and Friday, there was another deadly plane crash, this time in Florida.

What they're saying:

"I have been very scared to even fly just because of the crashes," Nyelah Branham told Fox 5 Friday. She was at Reagan National Airport ahead of a trip to New York, only she wasn’t there to hop on a flight. Instead, she was picking up a rental car to drive.

"Flying is easier, quicker. I actually enjoy the scenery up in the clouds and things like that, but I have a true fear after all these crashes," Branham said.

By the numbers:

Still, the numbers tell a different story.

For instance, the National Safety Council estimated that the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash in 2023 were 1-in-95, whereas the odds of dying in a plane crash were too small to calculate.

Also, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board, there were 67 aviation accidents in January of 2025, the month of the tragic collision near Reagan National. That’s the lowest number of accidents for that month going all the way back to 1982.

"Aviation still remains the safest form of transportation," said aviation expert Richard Levy. "Driving to the airport or driving on vacation is much riskier than flying on the aircraft."