A new report from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University suggests that opting to drive instead of fly is typically much riskier. The research, prepared with support from the university's Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety, compared fatality risk across various transportation modes in the U.S. from 2016 through 2025.
For the same distance travelled, the fatality risk in a passenger car or truck was estimated to be about 626 times higher than on a commercial airline. Motorcycle travel carried a risk more than 22,000 times higher, while highway bus travel was approximately nine times riskier than commercial airline travel over the same distance.
When measured per passenger boarding, the long-run estimate for commercial airlines from 2016 through 2024 was approximately one passenger fatality per 97.7 million boardings. Across the 10-year study period, 73 people died in accidents involving commercial airline travel in the United States.
Earlier research, including a 2013 study and a 2018 study, also identified commercial aviation as the safest way to travel. A 2022 study found a correlation between increased news coverage of aviation accidents and a rise in road traffic and fatal road accidents in subsequent months.