Your fear of flying can be explained by a 1970s toilet paper shortage

Sometimes perception becomes people’s reality. That certainly feels like the case after last month’s deadly crash near Reagan National Airport, as every accident or close call seems to get magnified, raising questions about America’s airline safety.

Sometimes perception becomes people’s reality. That certainly feels like the case after last month’s deadly crash near Reagan National Airport, as every accident or close call seems to get magnified, raising questions about America’s airline safety. The long-term and preliminary short-term statistics suggest that airline travel is about as safe as ever. But talk to any of your friends who are remotely afraid of flying, and I bet they will tell you that recent events have shaken them up. Our fears often run ahead of reality. We’ve seen panics that really weren’t supported by data many times in the last half a century – in sometimes serious and sometimes humorous ways. The percentage of Americans who say airline travel is safe has dropped from 71% in 2024 to 64% in February 2025, according to an AP-NORC Center poll. Those who say it is unsafe has risen from 12% to 20%. We see the same thing in Google search data: Searches for “is flying safe” have reached their second-highest level of all time. The only time it was higher was in March 2020, when people were worried about traveling during the Covid-19 pandemic. We don’t know yet whether the current fears will result in fewer people flying, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did.