When a plane crashes, the aftermath is horrific and can often lead to a fear of flying. However, air travel is one of the safest forms of travel and new technology and safety protocols have made it even safer, said U.S. News & World Report.
"In spite of a series of high-profile incidents making headlines since 2014 - from the AirAsia Flight 8501 tragedy to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 - air travel safety is improving," reported Liz Weiss.
"We see a continuing improvement in safety performance over time," Rudy Quevedo, the director of safety for IATA, told U.S. News & World Report.
What is driving the improvements? One is improved airplane design.
Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst for Atmosphere Research Group, told the publication that "nowadays, planes are better designed and constructed with improved engines, translating to heightened reliability and fewer failures."
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While fear of flying is common, it's not entirely justified. In comparison to the number of flights taking off every day, there are relatively few incidents. And airlines take seriously the task of ensuring that each plane makes it to its destination safely.
According to Tom Bunn, a former commercial pilot, "when Boeing was designing the 777, engineer Todd Curtis, Ph.D., led a team to think of everything that could possibly go wrong. After listing every risk, he directed another team to develop a way to get the plane safely on the ground in every case," he said to U.S. News & World Report.
There are also a number of new pilot protocols, new satellite technology and air traffic control enhancements that are contributing to the safety of flights. To read more about those, go here.
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