Many people have seen what has happened this year. From Alaska flight 1282’s door blowout, to United flight 35 losing a wheel upon takeoff, the incidents present a big question: Are Boeing planes (and flying) still safe?

 Let’s take a quick look at the aviation incidents statistics. According to a table on Wikipedia, the data shows that the number of aviation accidents and incidents have gone down over the years, while the number of planes in the sky have increased (according to air traffic monitoring site Flightradar24). This shows that flying has become safer, no matter how hard the media is trying to get you to click on their page, or how severe people’s aviophobia hits. Also, according to PBS, your chances of dying in a plane crash today are 1 in 11 million, compared to a car crash’s 1 in 93.

 Now that you know the safety of all planes, let’s focus specifically on Boeing. This year, it seems as if Boeing planes are having a lot more issues compared with their Airbus counterparts. If you have seen the news, you have heard of United’s planes having an eye-catching number of mechanical issues in 2024, especially around March. Most notably, UA35 (Boeing 777-200) from SFO to KIX lost a wheel upon takeoff, initiating a slurry of memes and criticisms of United Airlines and Boeing. However, the most famous Boeing incident from this year so far is Alaska Airlines flight 1282 (Boeing 737 MAX 9), which had a door plug blow out at 16,000 feet, causing a rapid decompression (loss of cabin pressure). Luckily, no one was sucked out or badly injured, and the plane landed with no further incidents. These recent incidents sparked backlash on Boeing, putting more attention on them, and leading to multiple FAA investigations. Every Boeing 737 MAX 9 was grounded for a while, and found to have loose bolts on the door plugs. They have been fixed and ungrounded now, but the fiasco left a lasting legacy with the public eye. So, how about the United planes? That is a very simple answer. Most United incidents over the year occurred on planes that are around 2 decades old, and coupled with the poor maintenance practices of United, created the perfect recipe for disaster. So, to answer the question: are Boeing planes safe? Yes. they still are. In fact, I recently flew on the Boeing 787-8, where some whistleblowers accused Boeing of building them with a weak fuselage. However, I believe the whistleblowers are falsely accusing Boeing, as the 787 is pressurized to a lower altitude (higher pressure inside the cabin vs outside pressure), showing the durability of the fuselage.

 Now you know, flying is one of the safest modes of transportation on earth currently, safer than cars and trains. So, why do people still fear flying so much? This is due to the commonality of aviophobia, and just the situation in general. In a plane, you are packed in like sardines (in economy class). This is not really the best situation for anyone, and can also trigger claustrophobia in some people. Plus, if you think really hard, you are hurtling across the sky at half the speed of sound with an altitude of 35,000 feet. This seems dangerous for a lot of people, and they are scared of something happening to them, which is a natural human instinct. To conclude, you should try flying sometime on your next vacation. For people who are scared of flying, it will be alright. Just tell a flight attendant you are scared of flying and any good one should help you get through takeoff, cruise, and landing.