Confidence in air safety and federal government agencies that help sustain it has dropped in 2025 after the deadly Reagan National Airport crash near Washington that killed 67 people, according to a new survey that was released on Wednesday.
The new Associated Press (AP)-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 64 percent of Americans said travel via plane is “somewhat” or “very safe.” The figure represents a decrease from the previous year when it was 71 percent.
Some 15 percent stated that it was neither unsafe nor safe while another 20 percent said plane travel is “very” or “somewhat” unsafe.
Respondents expressed similar levels of confidence in other transportation methods, including walking and driving a car. Taking the local metro, rail system or subway was seen as less safe with 53 percent saying it was “very” or “somewhat” safe.
Americans have the most confidence in pilots and the least amount of it in government agencies that maintain safety, according to the poll. Around 84 percent said they have at least a “moderate” amount of confidence in pilots. Over three-quarters, 77 percent, said the same about air traffic controllers while 75 percent voiced a similar amount of faith in commercial airlines.
Confidence in federal government agencies was at 55 percent with three-in-ten saying they had “only a little” while another 15 percent had none at all, the poll showed.
The survey was conducted shortly after the fatal Jan. 29 collision when an American Airlines flight flying from Kansas hit an Army Black Hawk helicopter that was doing a training flight. Everyone on board was killed and the two aircraft hit the Potomac River.
The survey was done from Feb. 6-10 among 1,112 adults. The margin of error was 4.1 percentage points.
