Boeing mishaps, Singapore Airlines turbulence spark flight safety jitters

A spate of high-profile airline accidents this year have left a lasting impression on the public.

The reality, statistics show, remains that getting on a Boeing or Airbus SE jetliner is still exponentially safer than the drive to the airport. Last year, there wasn’t a single fatality among the 37 million commercial airline flights.

While 2024 won’t match that record, it’s been an average year in terms of airline safety. Yet public perception remains jittery. US web searches for “flight safety” hit the highest level in March since October 2014, according to Google Trends.

Five people aboard a Japan coastguard turboprop lost their lives in early January when the plane ventured onto the runway path of an incoming Airbus A350. While nobody died in the January 5 structural failure of a 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Air Group Inc., the accident dealt a serious blow to Boeing’s credibility and to passenger confidence.

On the flight from London to Singapore this week, a 73-year-old British man died from a suspected heart attack after the plane encountered severe turbulence.

“There is reason for the public to be concerned but I think the concern is elevated because of the real focus that some news stations have given,” said John Goglia, an aviation safety expert and former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. “The wheel falling off the aeroplane never would have gone anywhere; in some local newspapers it may have been a one-inch column.”

Indeed, government statistics indicate the US is having a fairly normal year.

In the US, there were 11 accidents and incidents on commercial passenger or cargo flights in the first quarter, according to the NTSB database. That’s slightly above an average of 9.7 in the decade from 2010 to