Right at this moment, with triple air tragedies staring at us right in the face, it is hard to be convinced that flying is STILL safe.
First, it was the tragic incident of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 being shot down over Ukraine. While still reeling from the news of the disaster, news emerged of a TranAsia flight crash off the coast of Taiwan and then an Algerian flight in Africa.
Although, an accident is tragic in spite of how rare it is, 9 fatal accidents out of 32 million flights in 2013 is something to keep in mind.
While our Facebook newsfeeds are almost out there to convince us that flying may be the worst thing you can do right now, I decided to go and look at some numbers instead. Although the premonitions of doom by your friends on Facebook can be very convincing given the atmosphere now, the numbers paint a completely different story.
Flying is really safer than ever.
Although an accident is tragic in spite of how rare it is, 9 fatal accidents out of 32 million flights in 2013 is something to keep in mind.
If you take a look at the graph above which plots out the number of aircraft accidents per year, one thing becomes very obvious. Flying was terribly dangerous back in the 1960s all the way upto to the early 90s compared to now. Then the number of accidents have been dropping steadily thanks to better safety regulations, frequent maintenance and checks.
Although, an accident is tragic in spite of how rare it is, 9 fatal accidents out of 32 million flights in 2013 is something to keep in mind.
Also read: Despite Difficult Times, Malaysia Airlines Still Receives Support From Netizens
Flying is much safer than driving or riding a motorcycle.
Let me start by saying that the chances of having a plane crash is 1 in 300000.
You have a 3000 times more chance of getting killed in a motorcycle accident.
You have a 100 times more chance of getting killed in a car accident.
You have a 2 times more chance of getting killed in a train accident.
The thing which will absolutely for sure kill you is heart disease or cancer.
Ironically, the thing which will kill you for sure is the burger you were relishing while waiting for your flight to take off.
Imagine you are flying to Bali for a vacation from Singapore. While you are stressing about the safety of the flight to Bali, you are more likely to die from the scooter ride you go on with your friends from Kuta beach or the car ride to Mount Batur than the flight itself.
Ironically, the thing which will kill you for sure is the burger you were relishing while waiting for your flight to take off. Just think about that for a second.
Also read: Why The Black Boxes Are Crucial In HL17’s Investigation?
