Are there more plane crashed

1. Long-term decline in accident rates: the broad arc of safety

Decades of industry and regulator data show a clear downward trend in accident rates — accident frequencies per flight-hour or per million flights are far lower than peaks in the 1980s and 1990s, with the all‑time high accident rate noted as 9.08 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 1994 and much lower rates in later summaries compiled by manufacturers and safety bodies ^{[2] [1]}. U.S. carrier survivability studies and NTSB tables confirm that the proportion of occupants surviving accidents in Part 121 operations has improved or remained high through successive reviews, reflecting technological, procedural and regulatory gains ^[4].

2. Different ways to count — why the headline can be misleading

“Are there more plane crashes?” depends on the metric: total crashes, fatal crashes, fatalities, or rate per flight-hour. Government and industry sources compute rates by dividing accidents or fatalities by aircraft-miles, departures or flight hours; that means growth in flying can lower the rate even if absolute numbers change ^[5]. General aviation continues to account for far more accident events than commercial airlines — for example, NTSB investigations show general aviation made up over a thousand accidents in a recent year versus far fewer commercial events — so overall counts are driven by private and non‑commercial activity ^{[6] [7]}.

3. Recent years: a mixed signal with a sharp spike in fatalities

While many reports emphasize long-term safety gains, 2024–2025 presented mixed signals: industry compilations and press coverage documented higher fatalities in 2025 — Aviation Safety Network data cited by Forbes reported 548 aviation deaths in 2025, a seven‑year high — and specific catastrophic events (widebody losses and the Potomac midair) accounted for a disproportionate share of those deaths, skewing annual totals ^[3]. Regional and single incidents — including shootdowns and unusually deadly crashes in 2020–2025 — also can create spikes in statistics even as underlying per‑flight risk remains low ^{[8] [3]}.

4. Where accidents are concentrated and why

Analysts and safety reports consistently point to concentrated causes: private and general aviation have higher accident rates and account for the bulk of non‑airline crashes, while commercial scheduled operations remain the safest by many metrics ^{[6] [9]}. Human factors, training gaps and private‑flight reporting problems are repeatedly cited as persistent contributors, with some studies estimating a majority of accidents stem from pilot error or operational factors ^{[2] [7]}.

5. Data limitations, reporting lags and why year‑to‑year comparisons can deceive

Authorities and trade groups warn that data are provisional and subject to revision; NTSB and industry reports often require years for final probable causes and consolidated statistics, and some sources rely on different denominators (flight hours vs departures) making direct year‑to‑year comparisons tricky ^{[4] [5]}. Media summaries that compare raw counts without accounting for exposure (more passengers, more flights) or for unusual catastrophic events risk overstating a trend.

6. Bottom line: more crashes in absolute terms? Context matters

It is not accurate to assert a simple, monotonic rise in plane crashes; long-term rates per flight have fallen substantially ^{[1] [2]}, but absolute fatalities and some annual crash counts bumped upward in 2024–2025 due to a small number of high‑fatality events and activity shifts — meaning some recent years look worse on headline tallies even as flying remains statistically safer on a per‑flight basis ^{[3] [7]}. Evaluations should use both rate-based metrics and absolute numbers, and should separate general aviation from commercial carrier data to avoid misleading conclusions ^{[6] [5]}.