Your turn: What’s your take on the Air India disaster?

It’s been a terrible year for airline safety. Is it time to cancel your air travel plans after this Air India disaster?

It happened again. Yes, it was a Boeing airplane in an Air India disaster.

This week, Air India Flight 171 plunged into an Ahmedabad hostel minutes after takeoff, killing 240 people. It’s the latest in a year of high-profile aviation disasters.

Remarkably, there was one survivor on the ill-fated Boeing Dreamliner: Ramesh Viswashkumar in seat 11A, located in an emergency exit row. He was thrown from the aircraft before it crashed, according to reports.

Even experienced travelers are now having second thoughts about flying. But should they?

Is this turning into a nightmare year for aviation?

Here’s a short list of the most high-profile aviation accidents of the year so far:

• It started with the Potomac River mid-air collision in January. American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a US Army Sikorsky UH-60L over the Potomac River, killing all 64 people onboard the regional jet and all 3 aboard the chopper. We discussed this accident at length in a previous Friday Forum.
• In February, Delta Connection Flight 4819 flipped upside-down and crashed after landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Fortunately, all 76 passengers and 4 crew aboard survived the crash.
• The next month, Aerolínea Lanhsa Flight 018 crashed into the ocean after overshooting the runway on takeoff from Roatán Airport in Honduras. Of the 18 passengers on board, 13 died.

Overall, the number of aviation accidents is at the same level as a year ago. But to many travelers, flying just feels more dangerous.

Is flying really dangerous?

Statistically, no. The math doesn’t lie:

Aviation: 0.08 fatal accidents per million flights, according to IATA.

Driving: 1.35 deaths per 100 million miles (NHTSA). (You’re 72 times more likely to die in your car than on a plane.)

But who cares about statistics? The predictably fearful reaction from passengers after these high-profile aviation incidents is perfectly normal. We wonder: Can we trust Boeing to make a safe plane? Can we rely on Air India or American Airlines to maintain them?

And increasingly, the answer is: maybe not.

All of which brings us to this week’s question:

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Do you trust Boeing anymore? (I mean, you remember the 737 Max, don’t you?)

My take: I’ve got two flights booked this month, and I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. This seems to be the year of the high-profile aviation incident, and I’d really rather not be part of the news cycle.