After the Potomac River mid-air collision, many began to fear flying and developed new opinions on it. As plane crash media coverage increased, so did people’s newfound fear of flying.

The collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter occurred on Jan. 29, 2025, leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths because an aviation accident of this nature has not occurred in a very long time. Plane crashes in general are very rare, but seeing a commercial aircraft collide with another aircraft is extremely abnormal.

After the crash that began all of the news coverage, it became a trend in the media to highlight every aviation accident that occurred, whether that be a private plane or a commercial aircraft. As many people start to see news coverage about aviation more often, one question has been circulating in discussions: Are planes crashing at a higher rate than before?

The short answer is no. According to cntraveler.com, as of Feb. 20, 2025, there were 115 total aviation accidents through 2025. This is predominantly lower than the 187 crashes in the previous year. Keep in mind that this number accounts for all private and commercial aircraft throughout the world.

Many people used to only see plane crashes when they occurred on a large scale, such as commercial airline crashes. Nowadays, the news seemingly features a segment for something as little as a near miss in a small private plane or miscommunication between air traffic control and the pilot. Veaire Taylor, senior, stated that he had never really used to see plane crashes on the news. Since the initial crash of the Delta flight on Jan. 29, he stated that he began to see accident after accident on the news.

Another thing to think about is the fear these plane crashes instill in people throughout America. Lucy Morgan, junior, said that she feels scared to fly as a result of the recent news coverage regarding plane crashes. 

In reality, this year has had a below-average number of aviation crashes, and nothing is changing within the aviation industry besides the amount of media coverage.