Several recent commercial plane accidents have saturated media coverage, often leaving passengers left to wonder: Is it still safe to fly?
However, rigorous safety standards in the aviation industry have exponentially reduced the number of yearly fatalities over the last half-century. And statistics show how much safety has improved even in the last two decades. From 2011-15, the five-year average was one accident for every 456,000 flights; now, it’s one for every 810,000.
Fear and anxiety doesn’t always give way to statistics, logic, or reason. News of a plane crash still gives potential airline passengers pause before purchasing their next flight tickets.
Sometimes what we need is reassurance from the people with the most flying experience: pilots.
From Passenger to Pilot to Professor
Dan Bubb, '01 MA History, has been enamored with airplanes and airports since the age of 5. When he and his family would fly from San Francisco to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Christmas, he would find himself in awe of the enormous jets.
It wasn’t just the airplanes that propelled Bubb’s interest in aviation. “When I saw the pilots and flight attendants walking through the airport terminal in their uniforms, they looked so professional and cool,” says the Honors College associate professor. “I envisioned myself wearing a pilot uniform some day.”
Bubb wanted to join the U.S. Air Force, but he was ineligible to fly because he wore glasses. Undeterred, he went the civilian route and became a flight instructor.
“I flew many types of airplanes ranging from Cessna 152s and Piper Cherokee 140s to twin-engine Piper Senecas and Cessna 310s,” he says. “After that, I was hired as a first officer (co-pilot) to fly 15-passenger BeechCraft 99 turbo-propeller driven airplanes for Air Vegas Airlines.”
After 9/11, when airlines lost money and began eliminating jobs, Bubb returned to graduate school to become a university professor and airline industry historian.
“I always enjoyed teaching from the time I became a flight instructor to a ground instructor for Air Vegas Airlines and now a professor,” he says.
Bubb teaches the Honors courses Aviation in the West and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: How Transportation Changed American Western Culture in the 19th and 20th Centuries. He also authored the book, Landing in Las Vegas: Commercial Aviation and the Making of a Tourist City.
Here, he shares his aviation observations as well as his thoughts on why flying remains the safest way to travel.
A pilot answers: Is it still safe to fly?
There’s been a series of high-profile plane accidents in the past six months. Is flying still the safest way to travel?
Air travel remains the safest mode of transportation. This not only is proven statistically, but also in reality given the infrequency of aircraft accidents. In the U.S., the last fatal commercial plane crash before the American Airlines regional jet that crashed earlier this year near Reagan Airport was in 2009. We went 16 years without any fatalities, which is pretty remarkable given how many thousands of flights take place each day.
The air traffic system is not perfect —and we have seen a number of recent incidents that rightly cause public concern — but compared to other modes of transportation in the context of fatal crashes, the air travel system remains very safe. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has been working on securing funding from Congress to improve it by replacing antiquated equipment, hiring more air traffic controllers, and filling other needs.
When data and statistics show otherwise, why is there still a perception that flying is less safe?
Recently, I was part of a media interview, and one of the guests was former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. They asked him the same question. He said the reason why there is more public concern is largely due to the media covering these incidents and accidents.
What advice would you give to a nervous flier?
I would remind them that air travel is very safe. If they have any reservations, talk to a pilot. When I flew, I had many nervous passengers on my planes, and I calmed them by talking them through everything. Now I do the same as a passenger.
A month ago, I was at Houston Hobby Airport waiting for my flight to Las Vegas when a young man entered the boarding area with a cocktail in his hand. He asked if he was at the right gate. I told him "yes." He sat next to me and said he had been drinking because he was very nervous about flying in light of the recent events that have involved commercial airliners.
I explained to him how everything works from boarding the plane to deplaning and how well the pilots are trained, including being put through a multitude of intense, stressful events when they are in the flight simulator. He felt more at ease, and thanked me for patiently and clearly explaining everything to him.
What type of training do commercial pilots go through before they can fly with passengers?
First, they must go through ground school, pass a written exam, and pass a flight exam in a simulator. Then as first officers, they must fly with highly experienced captains for 6-12 months. Additionally, all commercial airline pilots must annually undergo recurrent training to stay proficient.
What are the most likely causes of an aviation accident?
The three most common are pilot error, inadequate aircraft maintenance, and faulty aircraft manufacturing. Investigators look carefully at all of these areas before they make their determination and release a report.
Aviation involves humans. As we know, humans are prone to making mistakes. That is why pilot training is rigorous.
That training also is redundant — for instance, going through checklists, including both pilots verifying actions like calling out [velocity] speeds, and ensuring that the landing gear is down and locked. After the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] or NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] releases their report on an aircraft accident, in our industry, we read those reports and learn how to make what we do better.
Have you ever had an in-air experience that shook you up?
No, but I did have an event that got my adrenaline going. One time, we were taking off from Henderson Executive Airport and a red light illuminated. It indicated that we had an engine problem. We were full of passengers, bags, and fuel. We shut down the engine and returned to the airport.
Upon later inspection of the engine, there were metal shavings, which indicated that the engine needed serious repair or replacement. We had to cancel that flight and wait until later in the afternoon to transport the passengers to the Grand Canyon airport in another plane.
A lot of folks are frightened of turbulence. Can you explain how strong planes are built to handle inclement weather?
Commercial passenger planes truly are marvels of modern technology. They are designed to withstand severe turbulence, hard landings, and other events.
The wings that contain jet fuel and hold the engines can flex to extraordinary degree angles in all different types of turbulence. Often, passengers are afraid to see them flex, and I always tell those sitting near me who are fretting that the wings flexing actually is a good thing. After I explain the physics and aerodynamics to them, they appreciate the explanation and become calm.
Of all the miraculous plane landings — like Sully and the “Miracle on the Hudson” — is there one that made you think, “Wow, that pilot did something amazing!”
On July 19, 1989, a United Airlines DC-10 with 296 passengers and crew onboard departed Denver International Airport for Chicago O’Hare Airport. En route, a cracked fan blade in the No. 2 engine separated and caused an explosion. The debris severed the plane’s hydraulic lines.
This presented an enormous problem to Capt. Al Haynes, his first officer, and second officer. They basically could not steer the plane and lower the landing gear.
Fortunately, there happened to be a United Airlines DC-10 check airman (instructor) onboard, and he was summoned to the cockpit to help the pilots. Capt. Haynes had a total of nearly 30,000 hours of flight time, a little over 7,000 of which was in the DC-10. The pilots were barely able to control the plane and crash land it at Sioux City Airport. Although 112 passengers died, another 184 survived. Capt. Haynes and his flight crew were basically flying a broken passenger jet that was disintegrating.
Because of their creative thinking and extensive knowledge of that plane, it truly is a miracle that anyone survived the impact. Months — and even years — later, no experienced test pilots in flight simulators could successfully do what Capt. Haynes and his flight crew did. In my opinion, whenever anyone mentions Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger, they should also mention Capt. Al Haynes in the same breath.
UNLV is located right next to one of the busiest international airports. How would you like to see that influence future programs?
I would love to see a partnership between Harry Reid International Airport and UNLV to establish an airport management program. Students would enroll in the program and do their internship training at Harry Reid International Airport. Conversely, Harry Reid International Airport employees could take different courses offered by UNLV to diversify their experience. Currently, these employees must spend two weeks at Airports Council International to receive any recurrent or job diversity training. This is time and money away from their jobs.
Also, UNLV will be introducing Dreamscape Learn in fall 2025. I would love to see Dreamscape Learn eventually develop airline passenger jet simulator software so students can experience what it is like to fly a Boeing 777. We could also have air traffic controller software simulators so students can experience what it is like to be an air traffic controller.
