Is Flying Still Safe? Facts vs Fears with Expert Stuart MacDonald

Psst. I have a little secret. 

I have a very real fear of flying.

It may sound surprising, especially since I work in the industry and have family members who are pilots and flight attendants, but it is very true – as my doctor, and anyone who’s flown with me, will attest.

So “another” plane crash like Delta Air Lines flight 4819 on Monday afternoon hit me hard.

My irrational side fears planes just keep falling from the sky, but my rational side knows to look at data and consult an industry expert like Travel and Loyalty Industry Consultant Stuart MacDonald to find out what is actually going on. 

Are there more plane crashes than usual? Is it safe for us to fly?

“I know that because there’s been some recent accidents that have made the news lately, it can feel like things are going wrong when it comes to passenger safety and commercial aircraft, but flying is still the safest way to travel,” MacDonald explained in an interview.

“Things get in the news sometimes and hit us in ways that it feels like there’s been a change, or a new pattern, but if you go back and look at the actual numbers, January was about on par with the safety performance that we’ve seen for years and years and years.”

CNN reported earlier this week that if the US preliminary numbers hold, January 2025 will surpass the previous record for the lowest number of total accidents, with eight fewer than the prior record low of 70 from January 2012.

In Canada, in 2023, the latest year for statistics, The Transportation Safety Board reported there were 181 reported air crashes in Canada, 19 of which were fatal. This is a decrease from 2022, when there were 24 fatal crashes. The overall accident rate in 2023 was 2.8 per 100,000 aircraft movements, which is one of the lowest rates recorded by the Transportation Safety Board. For perspective, in 2023, Canadian air carriers transported 79.6 million passengers.

MacDonald says those safety numbers are due to the systems and processes in place when something does go wrong.

“All the things that we’ve learned, all the results of the work the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and others in the U.S. and Europe and around the world have done, is shared knowledge.

There are international treaties, and we learn, and the equipment gets smarter, and the processes get smarter, and the training gets smarter. We are so, so fortunate as passengers today that there is so much in place that we don’t even think how it’s designed to keep us safe in the air.”

Then MacDonald throws me for a loop. 

The fact the wings fell off the Delta Air Lines plane, is a good thing.

He says they were engineered to do that, to maximize the safety of passengers in the event of a crash, by minimizing the tumbling that can happen due to its sheer force when a plane crashes.

“I’ll give you a parallel example that some people might be able to wrap their head around. If you’re watching a Formula One race and a car was in an accident, you see pieces flying off everywhere. The car is designed so that pieces detach as part of absorbing some of the energy, and the wheels also detach but remain connected with straps to prevent them from flying into the crowd. It’s all designed in a way that makes it look absolutely awful, but it’s designed to keep the driver safe,” MacDonald said.

“All 80 people got off that Delta plane alive because the plane was designed with what we’ve learned from past problems.  Passenger safety is a system. We learn and we adapt, and things get better, things get safer.”

It’s important to note that the plane involved in the Delta Air Lines crash was built right here in Canada. The Bombardier CRJ was built in Mirabel, Quebec, where it also produces the A220. In fact, we produce a variety of aircraft that are used in some of the most difficult circumstances around the world, such as fighting forest fires. MacDonald says Canada has “incredible talent and skill, not just in operating aircraft, but in designing and building safe, comfortable, fuel-efficient aircraft.”

The industry veteran also stresses the importance of crew members in cases like the one at Pearson. Viral passenger video taken during the evacuation shows a calm, yet stern flight attendant directing passengers out the exit. She is trained to do exactly what she did. MacDonald says it’s all part of an overall system where many pieces fit together to ensure passengers safely travel to their destinations.

“Passenger safety is a system that goes all the way from smart people making good decisions to the recommendations and regulations, to the engineering and design to the training of crews, right down to where the bolts should be on that plane if it lands on its roof. It goes all the way to the finest detail; there’s a reason you can’t keep your glass when we’re taking off. It’s all there for a reason and it’s there to keep you safe first and foremost.”