Poll: Most say US air travel is safe despite recent scares
Most U.S. adults believe that air travel is generally safe in the U.S., despite some doubts about whether aircraft are being properly maintained and remain free from structural problems.
About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say planes are a “very” or “somewhat” safe method of travel, according to a new poll from Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Even with that high level of trust, only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults have “a great deal” of confidence that airplanes are being properly maintained, or that they are safe from structural faults. Another half have a “moderate” amount of faith that this is the case.
The poll was conducted after a Jan. 5 accident in which a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner 16,000 feet above Oregon, leaving a hole in the side of the plane.
That led to the grounding of more than 140 planes and raised questions about Boeing’s ongoing manufacturing problems as well as the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to address them.
U.S. adults are more confident in airline pilots’ and air traffic controllers’ ability to maintain air safety than they are in the commercial airlines, airplane manufacturers or federal government agencies charged with it.
A majority have at least a “moderate” amount of confidence that each is ensuring safety.
Even with maintenance concerns, U.S. adults have a higher level of certainty that airline pilots and air traffic controllers are well-trained and engaged in proper safety procedures. Slightly fewer than half — 45% — have “a great deal” of confidence in pilots’ training, while 38% say that about air traffic controllers.
About one-quarter of U.S. adults have a high level of confidence that air travel is safe from terrorist attacks or that government agencies have enacted necessary safety regulations.
Even with the variation, a majority of U.S. adults have at least “a moderate amount” of confidence that planes are safe, pilots are well-trained and the regulations are appropriate.
That may be because flying is still much safer than driving and safer than rail travel on a per-mile basis, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures.
Airline officials and aviation regulators like to point out that there has not been a fatal crash of a U.S. airliner since 2009, although a passenger died in 2018 on a Southwest flight after an engine explosion, and in the past year there has been a sharp increase in close calls being investigated by federal officials.
About one-quarter of U.S. adults say they travel by plane at least a few times a year when traveling long distances.
Those frequent flyers are more likely than those who fly less often to have a great deal of confidence on all categories: that airplanes are being properly maintained, are safe from structural faults, that air traffic controllers are well-trained, that pilots are well-trained, that government agencies have enacted the necessary safety regulations and that it’s safe from terrorist acts.