Why we're doomscrolling about plane crashes even though air travel is relatively safe

People are afraid of flying right now — but that fear isn't based in much data.

There's been a huge uptick in content about plane crashes over the past few weeks. If you look at Google Trends for searches about aviation accidents and incidents, we're searching for them nearly 50 times more often now than we were at any point since Google started collecting data — including when the infamous lost Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that took over our breaking news banners in 2014.

But, in reality, flying is safer than it ever has been. In fact, the number of reported plane crashes are at an all time low according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board. In January 2025, there were 63 total airplane accidents, the majority of which were on private flights, compared to the 80 recorded in January 2024. Data from International Civil Aviation Organization shows a similar decrease in crashes over time, the BBC reported.

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So why is everyone freaking out online?

The first clear answer is that there was a massive, deadly crash in the beginning of the year that timed up pretty perfectly with the destabilization of government organizations meant to keep air travel safe. While only 10 of the flights in January 2025 were fatal, in comparison to 19 fatal flights in January 2024, according to the NTSB data, one of those flights was a collision between a commercial airliner and a military helicopter in Washington D.C., in which 67 people died. Another flight was a commercial flight that left multiple people injured and crash landed upside down in Toronto. At the same time, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the leadership of Elon Musk, made significant cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration including multiple jobs that helped support air safety, the Associated Press reported. Plus, as CNN reported, some of these crashes — including the D.C. collision and the crash in Toronto — involved commercial airliners. Typically, the majority of crashes are smaller, private planes, which tend to be less safe, according to CNN. They also naturally get less attention in the media and result in fewer fatalities.

This left us in a place to be primed for horror — and social media doesn't help that. Marco Chan, a former pilot and senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University, told BBC Verify that the increase in air disaster awareness is being fueled because "accidents are getting increasing exposure from social media platforms."

Some videos and posts on X, Instagram, and TikTok about travel dangers are going viral, but not everyone is trying to fear monger.

One travel creator, @bmekween, posted a video pointing out just how inconsistent our flight fears are with the current data. And, she thinks, it might be connected to fear mongering from the current administration.

"I'm truly not trying to be a conspiracy theorist," she said in a video with more than 121,000 likes on Reels. On TikTok, the same video has over a million views and 150,000 likes. "One of the ways that people in power will try to control other people is by convincing them that something different from what they are experiencing is dangerous and creating a fear around that."

Overall, a poll from AP-NORC shows that while people might think air travel is slightly less safe today than they did in January 2024, a majority of the public still thinks plane travel is safe.