Flight anxiety is something that affects around one in six people – but a new study suggests it’s actually more dangerous on solid ground.
Scientists from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University compared the fatality risk of flying with other transportation modes.
The results revealed that, for the same distance travelled, you’re 626 times more likely to die in a car or truck than on a commercial airline.
‘Public perception of transportation safety is often shaped by the visibility and emotional impact of rare catastrophic events rather than by objective measures of risk,’ the researchers explained in their study.
‘Commercial aviation accidents, although exceedingly uncommon, receive disproportionate media attention and can create a persistent impression that air travel is inherently dangerous.
‘In contrast, far more common causes of injury and death – including everyday transportation, recreational activities, and routine occupations – receive comparatively little attention, despite posing substantially higher risks.’
Flight anxiety is something that affects around one in six people – but a new study suggests it’s actually more dangerous on solid ground (stock image)
In the study, the researchers set out to understand just how safe flying really is.
The team analysed the fatality risk in US commercial aviation from 2016-2025, and compared it with other transportation modes, recreational activities, household hazards and occupational risks.
The results revealed that commercial airline travel is ‘exceptionally safe’.
The fatality risk in a car or truck was found to be 626 times higher than on an airplane, while motorcycle travel was more than 22,000 times more risky.
Even highway bus travel was found to carry about nine times the risk of commercial airline travel.
Beyond transportation, several common recreational activities were found to be more risky than flying.
This includes skiing and snowboarding (73 times higher risk of death), scuba diving (180x), marathon running (202x), and skydiving (422x).
In addition, the researchers looked at the risk of death from various injuries.
The results showed that you’re three times more likely to die from a lightning strike than flying, eight times more likely to die from a bite from a dog, and 16 times more likely to die in a cataclysmic storm.
‘The central conclusion of this analysis is clear: modern U.S. commercial aviation operates at an exceptionally high level of safety,’ the researchers said.
‘Measured per mile traveled, it is safer than other major transportation modes; measured per trip or per hour of exposure, it is also safer than many common recreational activities and everyday occupations.
‘Its contribution to annual and lifetime mortality risk is extremely small.
‘While no activity is completely risk-free, U.S. commercial aviation represents a mature and highly regulated transportation system in which the level of risk has been reduced to exceptionally low levels.’
