Is flying less safe now?

One year of data cannot answer that, and no article can judge your flight. IATA's 2025 all-accident rate was 1.32 per million flights, better than 1.42 in 2024, and its five-year fatal accident rate is one per 5.6 million flights (2021 to 2025). IATA also counted eight fatal accidents in 2025.

How long until the cause of a crash is known?

The US NTSB says it generally tries to complete an investigation within 12 to 24 months, though complexity and other factors can greatly affect that timing. Early reports are early. Distinguish established facts from theories and check the investigating authority's updates.

Should I cancel my flight after seeing crash news?

That is your decision, and this guide cannot judge any specific flight. The NHS says avoiding feared situations can bring short-term relief but make fears grow. As a practical suggestion, consider stepping away from the news before deciding. If fear is making the choice for you, talk to a doctor.

Fear of flying after plane crash news: what helps

Q: How do I stop reading crash news?

Pick one time a day to check a reliable source, turn off alerts and skip images before a flight. The NHS advises being careful about looking up information online, because you may not be ready to see triggering images. A 2024 review reports that association for war and terror coverage, not aviation news.

By Jane Nickelback, Chief Editor · Fact-checked against the sources listed below · How articles are prepared
Published: November 9, 2026 · Updated: November 9, 2026

Fear of flying after plane crash news is understandable, and the news cannot tell you how your own flight will go. One way to read it is to separate three things: the story, which shows one rare event up close; the long-term numbers, such as IATA’s report of one fatal accident per 5.6 million flights over 2021 to 2025; and how much news you take in. This guide covers all three, and it does not describe any specific accident.

What do the safety numbers say, and what do they leave out?

Pick one source and read it with its year and its unit. IATA’s 2025 report counts 51 accidents among 38.7 million flights, an all-accident rate of 1.32 per million flights. That is better than 1.42 in 2024 and slightly above the 2021 to 2025 average of 1.27. “All-accident” counts every accident under IATA’s definition, not only fatal ones. The fatal count is separate: eight fatal accidents in 2025, and the five-year fatal accident rate is one per 5.6 million flights (2021 to 2025), compared with one per 3.5 million for 2012 to 2016.

Two limits matter. These are global figures for IATA’s scope, so they are not your chance of anything on a particular trip. And they do not say flying is risk-free. IATA’s own words are that even one accident among nearly 40 million flights a year moves the global data. Different bodies count differently, so do not set figures from two organizations next to each other as if they measured the same thing.

How long until the cause is known?

The US NTSB says it tries to complete an investigation within 12 to 24 months, but that the complexity of the case and other factors can greatly affect the timing. That is a target, not a promise.

In the first days, a theory in a headline or a social post is not a finding. Check the investigator’s own page to see what has been established and what has not.

Why does the news make the fear louder?

A 2024 review in PNAS reports that the link between media exposure and distress appears to be cyclical: more exposure predicts more distress, and more distress predicts more exposure after later tragedies. The work is about war and terror news, not aviation, and it shows an association, not a cause.

The NHS gives similar advice for phobias in general: be careful about looking up information online, because you may not be ready to see triggering images.

What can you do in five minutes?

This routine is our suggestion, not a medical prescription:

Decide when you will check the news once, and from which source. Write it down.
Turn off news alerts on your phone for the rest of the day.
Skip images and videos. Read text from an investigating authority or a reliable outlet instead.
Breathe the way the NHS describes: belly breathing as deep as is comfortable, without forcing it, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
If you have a flight coming, write down what you will decide, and when, so the choice is not made in the middle of a news spike.

On cancelling: this guide cannot judge your flight. The NHS notes that avoiding situations can make fears grow, so decide with that in mind, and wait for the first wave of fear to settle if you can.

Smooth Air includes breathing practices. If you use the app, you could choose a practice before boarding instead of looking for one when you are distressed. The practice does not treat anxiety or assess the safety of a flight. For the day before your trip, see our guide on what to do when you fly tomorrow.

When to get help

If news has you checking, rereading or avoiding flights for days, or fear is affecting sleep and work, talk to a doctor. The NHS lists talking therapies, including CBT, as treatment for phobias, and says that in England you can refer yourself directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a GP referral. Medication questions are for a doctor.

If panic starts on board, our guide on what to do if you panic on a plane goes step by step. Tell a crew member about new or severe symptoms. The NHS says most panic symptoms can also be symptoms of other conditions, so a panic attack is only one possible explanation.