Is Flying Safer Than Driving?

By all known statistics, flying is much safer than driving. CREDIT: USDA. View full size image

The first aviation fatality occurred on Sept. 17, 1908, when army lieutenant Thomas Selfridge perished as a passenger during a flying demonstration put on by Orville Wright in Virginia. A few improvements have been made. Calculating fatalities on a per-mile basis, the most dangerous part of air travel is getting to the airport. For flying to become as risky as driving in the United States, a packed commercial jet would have to go down once a month, yet that actually happens only about once every two years.

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