~9,412 PLANES AIRBORNE NOW TYPICAL DAY

Flying feels scary.
The numbers strongly disagree.

Live flights, sourced stats, and the ridiculous things more likely to happen to you than your flight not landing.

Type a flight, airport, city, or airline — we'll show you it's fine.
BOARDING PASS ANXIETY: OPTIONAL
CHANCE YOUR FLIGHT LANDS SAFELY
99.999993%
FLIGHTS / YEAR
38.7M
DEATH RISK
1 / 13.7M boardings
SEAT
ANY
CLEARED
FINE
MIT DATA · 2024
GATE 01 — THE FACT

Worldwide, commercial aviation records roughly one passenger death per 13.7 million boardings — making it the safest mode of transport ever measured, and it has roughly halved every decade since the 1960s.

SOURCE: MIT / ARNOLD BARNETT, 2024 → DATA 2018–2022 WHAT THIS NUMBER MEANS → METHODOLOGY →
MORE LIKELY THAN YOUR FLIGHT NOT LANDING → YOU DIE IN A CAR CRASH (163,000×)YOU ARE POISONED BY ACCIDENT (71,000×)YOU DIE FROM A FALL (62,800×)YOU DROWN (12,100×)A BIKE RIDE KILLS YOU (2,790×)YOU FREEZE TO DEATH (2,270×)THE SUN KILLS YOU (998×)YOU'RE KILLED BY LIGHTNING (172×)A TRAIN CRASH KILLS YOU (88×)FIREWORKS KILL YOU (40×)A SHARK KILLS YOU (3×) MORE LIKELY THAN YOUR FLIGHT NOT LANDING → YOU DIE IN A CAR CRASH (163,000×)YOU ARE POISONED BY ACCIDENT (71,000×)YOU DIE FROM A FALL (62,800×)YOU DROWN (12,100×)A BIKE RIDE KILLS YOU (2,790×)YOU FREEZE TO DEATH (2,270×)THE SUN KILLS YOU (998×)YOU'RE KILLED BY LIGHTNING (172×)A TRAIN CRASH KILLS YOU (88×)FIREWORKS KILL YOU (40×)A SHARK KILLS YOU (3×)
GATE 02 — BAGGAGE CLAIM OF BAD LUCK

Things more likely than your flight not landing:

You die in a car crash
163,000× more likely
Lifetime odds 1 in 84 — ISAF/NSC/CDC →
You drown
12,100× more likely
Lifetime odds 1 in 1,134 — ISAF/NSC/CDC →
You're killed by lightning
172× more likely
Lifetime odds 1 in 79,746 — ISAF/NSC/CDC →
A shark kills you
3× more likely
Lifetime odds 1 in 4,332,817 — ISAF/NSC/CDC →
See all 43 causes, with the math →
BELT 03 — ARRIVALS

Example flights, real safety records

ALL FLIGHTS →
ILLUSTRATIVE BOARD — these are example routes, not live departures. The safety records are real and sourced.
FLIGHTROUTEAIRLINE RECORDSTATUS
BA 249 LHR → GIG · 787-9 No fatal accident since 1976 SAFE ✓ UA 92 EWR → LIS · 767-300 No fatal accident since 1991 SAFE ✓ AA 100 JFK → LHR · 777-300ER No fatal accident since 2001 SAFE ✓
Records from Aviation Safety Network via our methodology.
GATE 04 — INFORMATION DESK

Straight answers, no fluff

Written to be quoted — by people, search engines, and AI assistants alike.

Is flying safe in 2026?

Yes. Commercial flying is the safest form of transport ever measured: worldwide, one passenger death per 13.7 million boardings. Your chance of stepping off any given flight safely is 99.999993%.
MIT / ARNOLD BARNETT, 2024 →

What are the odds of a plane crash?

For a passenger boarding a scheduled commercial flight, the risk of dying is roughly 1 in 13.7 million (worldwide, 2018–2022). That risk has halved every decade since the 1960s.
MIT / ARNOLD BARNETT, 2024 →

Can turbulence crash a plane?

No modern commercial jet has ever been brought down by turbulence. Wings are certified to flex far beyond the strongest turbulence ever recorded. Turbulence does injure people who are not belted in — so wear the belt.
FAA — TURBULENCE FACT SHEET →

What is the safest airline?

Dozens of major carriers have gone decades without a fatal accident — Qantas, Hawaiian, ANA, EVA Air among them. At this level of safety, the differences between major airlines are statistically negligible.
AVIATION SAFETY NETWORK →