Pilots hold onto hope after string of deadly aviation accidents
Washington, D.C. Philadelphia. Alaska. Scottsdale, Arizona. These communities are racked with grief, reeling over the devastation caused by horrific plane crashes. 85 lives were lost in 12 days. Families and organizations are torn apart by unimaginable tragedy.
On Jan. 29, an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter smashed together in mid-air, plummeting into the Potomac River. There were no survivors from either aircraft, with 67 dead. Two days later, a medical plane crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven.
Less than a week later, on Feb. 6, a Bering Air flight in Alaska vanished and was later recovered in the Bering Sea. All 10 people aboard the plane did not survive. Feb. 10 brought another incident, as a plane on the Scottsdale Airport runway crashed into another parked plane, killing one person and causing multiple injuries.
These instances have sparked fear and unrest among Americans. With so much trauma happening in the aviation industry in so little time, many Americans are questioning whether flying is worth the risk.
Lance Leigh and Gavin Williams are commercial pilots who are training at the University of North Dakota. Leigh reported that, especially at his campus, there is a lot of anxiety among aspiring pilots.
“It’s definitely impacting kids, especially who are earlier in their training, trying to think about [if] they want this as a career when they see all the scary stuff happening,” Leigh said. “There’s been a lot more stuff at school about being able to reach out to people for help if you’ve been feeling kind of nervous about this.”
Both Leigh and Willliams agree that flying is the safest form of transportation. Leigh explained that because of all the incidents occurring with planes, the media magnifies every incident, no matter how small, and this creates fear among Americans.
Williams believes that the American public should not have worries about flying.
“[There are] so many regulations and rules that are in place,” Williams said. “We learn from these accidents, and we can take away a lot of information and so this doesn’t happen again.”
Williams shared that everyone in the aviation industry goes through rigorous training in their respective programs. Leigh added that pilots especially have numerous certifications and hours of experience with flying.
Leigh also emphasized that plane crashes are devastating because of numerous factors.
“It can often be very bad because planes are flying fast, they’re flying high,” Leigh said. “A lot of times, it’s extremely low-risk with high-consequence, and that’s what scares people.”
Leigh’s mother, Linda, believes that Americans’ fear of flying is normal, especially when such tragic incidents occur. She also expressed that regulations are in place for a reason to make flying safer for all.
“I feel like anytime a plane crash happens, they learn from it, and hopefully things get even safer than they were,” Linda Leigh said. “When you find out it’s human error, you just hope that the rest of the pilots are being trained not to do those errors and not duplicate those.”
While these instances of plane crashes cause natural emotions, the aviation industry is constantly working to improve safety for everyone. Additionally, with the media highlighting these accidents, there are going to be more negative emotions toward the flying industry.
Leigh and Williams both encourage Americans to not be afraid of flying. Leigh’s message to the public, simply put, is to reflect on the statistics of something tragic happening.
“Every time you get [on] a plane, think of it as a blessing,” Leigh said. “Be grateful for what it’s providing you and know that the risk is so low that the drive you took to get to the airport was the dangerous part of the trip.”
Source
https://www.yahoo.com/news/deadly-u-plane-crashes-2025-195045679.html
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