Photo courtesy of Devyn George.
Since 2025 began, there have been a reported 94 aviation accidents worldwide. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, January had 63 incidents and February had 31. Concerns about flying are due, in part, to the plane/helicopter collision, January 29, Washington DC, killing 67 people.
Students, professors, and local residents who were made aware of a number of aviation accident statistics for this story became notably uncomfortable.
When asked if they felt okay flying or if they believed that the government was responsible, the answers varied from “yes,” they would continue flying to “no,” they would not.
One SAU professor planning to fly over break says recent accidents have given her pause. “Flying is not my favorite way to travel, but nothing beats its speed, I’ll be silently clapping my hands the second the landing gear touches down in New York.”
Elly Bare, a soccer player at St Ambrose says that she has never heard anything about all the accidents.
After informing Elly about what’s been going on in the world she stated, “What the heck!”
When asked if she felt safe to fly, she stated, “I’ve only ever been on a plane once and that was to Florida, I hated it.
“I’m honestly terrified of flying and I get really bad motion sickness. The worst part for me is when my ears pop, it hurts. I’ve never really felt safe flying and now with all of the crashes, I don’t plan to start now.”
Brody Reed, a union sheet metal worker, 21, a Davenport resident, stated that he had heard about “some incidents” but had never imagined how many there had been.
“I watch the news sometimes just to catch up on what’s going on in the world and see that there were some plane crashes, but I had no idea that there had been 94 within the first two months of January.”
He strongly agreed when asked if he thought the government was responsible, saying, “The government has done so many things behind everyone’s backs that we don’t even know about. It always relates to them.”
An anonymous source who works for a private Airline called NetJets added some perspective. “I’ve been a pilot since 1987, flying professionally since 1991. I was on an accident investigation team from 2008-2015. I have over 15,000 hours of flight time and yes, still I get somewhat nervous before I fly either as a passenger or a flight crew member.
“I would tell people to watch the weather before you fly and if your connecting airport is having delays, try to rebook through another airport.
“Always dress in comfortable but useful clothes and good shoes, no flip flops or flimsy sandals. In case you need to run for a gate or get out of a plane in a hurry.”
This anonymous source says the government has no ill intention behind it. “The FAA is part of the US government, so our safety has some to do with aviation safety. The final responsibility rests with the flight crew.”
When asked if this person would like to see any improvements in everything, they stated, “ I would say we need more “competent” air traffic controllers. Hire people based on their abilities, not anything else.
“We need updated Air Traffic Control systems i.e. weather radar and traffic avoidance systems. Better ground control systems to move planes around the airport.”
Devyn George is a staff writer for The Buzz.
