To determine which airlines are the most dangerous, we can look at accidents per year as well as fatalities per year.
We discovered that Air France and American Airlines are the most dangerous airlines, as they have been involved in the most plane crashes worldwide with 11 each, though popular US carriers, including United and Southwest have also had their fair share of accidents.
When it comes to fatalities, American Airlines has one of the worst records with 858 fatalities, along with China Airlines at 760 fatalities, and Malaysia Airlines at 537 fatalities, though this metric doesn’t always tell the full story.
For convenience, we have not only separated airlines by crashes and fatalities, but also by worldwide and USA.
*Only airlines that have had 4 or more plane accidents have been included.
Wreckage from the Air France 447 crash
While you might think that the more popular the airline, the more likely the odds of it crashing, this isn’t necessarily the case.
For example, despite their popularity, British Airways has only ever been involved in one plane crash whereas Qantas has never crashed.
If you live in the USA, you can see that some of the most popular airlines feature on this list, including Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines, while others don’t.
*Only airlines that have experienced 150 or more fatalities have been included.
China Airlines Flight 140 wreckage
There isn’t necessarily a correlation between airline accidents and fatalities.
For example, Southwest Airlines has been involved in 3 plane crashes/accidents, though has only experienced 1 fatality.
Interestingly, KLM is the world’s oldest airline that has been in continuous airline, so its safety record is actually excellent despite appearing on the list.
Most Dangerous Airlines in the USA
There have been no shortage of plane crashes by USA carriers, though some of the most popular airlines, including JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, have never been involved in a crash.
Accidents By Airline
American Airlines: 11 accidents
United Airlines: 7 accidents
Southwest Airlines: 3 accidents
Delta Air Lines: 2 accidents
Alaska Airlines: 1 accident
Horizon Air: 1 accident
An American Airlines plane in the aftermath of a plane crash
Fatalities By Airline
American Airlines: 858 fatalities
United Airlines: 288 fatalities
Delta Air Lines: 134 fatalities
Alaska Airlines: 88 fatalities
Horizon Air: 1 fatality
Southwest Airlines: 1 fatality
Airlines That Have Never Crashed
Airlines that have never had a fatal crash include:
Aegean Airlines
easyJet
Emirates
Etihad Airways
Hawaiian Airlines
JetBlue
Norwegian
Qatar Airways
Qantas Airways
Ryanair
Southwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines
Sun Country Airlines
Virgin Atlantic
Volaris
Wizz Air
Qantas Airways has never had a crash
The Chance of a Plane Crashing is Exceptionally Low
If strictly taking about commercial aviation, the chances of a plane crashing and involving fatalities is exceptionally low.
According to Arnold Barnett, who is an expert in the field of aviation safety and risk and Professor of Statistics at MIT, “if you take one flight a day, you would on average need to fly every day for 55,000 years before being involved in a fatal crash.”
5 Safest Airlines
There can be several ways to determine which airlines are the safest in the world, including the carriers with the lowest number of total accidents and fatalities.
This, however, wouldn’t necessarily tell the full story, considering some airlines carry many more passengers than others. In fact, while there are thousands of airlines, only approximately 230 airlines carry 99% of the world’s passengers.
Therefore, to determine which airlines are the safest, we have referred to AirlineRatings.com, which “takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airlines own safety data” to determine a rating.
More specifically, for 2023’s rating, “crashes over 5 years, serious incidents over two years, audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations; government audits, fleet age, and COVID protocols” were all used in to compile the list.
Worldwide
Air New Zealand
Etihad Airways
Qatar Airways
Singapore Airlines
TAP Air Portugal
Air New Zealand is one of the safest airlines in the world
USA
No USA airline made the top 5 list of the safest airlines, though Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines all made the top 20 (in order of placement).
How Airlines With Poor Safety Records Have Improved
Safety measures and improvements are paramount in the aviation industry, and airlines with poor safety records often take significant steps to enhance their safety standards.
Advanced Maintenance Procedures: Airlines with a history of safety issues tend to invest heavily in aircraft maintenance. They implement more rigorous and frequent maintenance checks, including thorough inspections of aircraft systems, engines, and avionics.
Fleet Modernization: Older aircraft may have more safety-related issues, so airlines often retire older planes and invest in newer, more advanced models with enhanced safety features.
Safety Culture: Improving safety requires fostering a culture of safety throughout the entire airline. So an airline might encourage employees at all levels to report safety concerns without fear of retribution. Safety initiatives may then be introduced, such as safety awareness programs, reporting systems, and channels for open communication.
Safety Audits and Assessments: Airlines often undergo safety audits that are conducted by independent organizations or aviation authorities. These have the goal of evaluating how well an airline is sticking to safety regulations, standards, and best practices.
Are Airlines That Use Certain Aircraft Likely to Be Involved in More Crashes?
On the surface, if we look at just the numbers, the most dangerous plane is the Boeing 737 with 149 accidents and 4,360 fatalities.
Additionally, the Boeing 747 has been involved in 49 accidents and 3,713 fatalities, and the Airbus A300 has been involved in 33 accidents with 1,416 fatalities.
The Boeing 737 has been involved in the most crashes and fatalities
As you can see from the data, there is a very high correlation between the type of aircraft involved in a plane crash and the number of fatalities.
However, as over 10,000 Boeing 737s have been produced compared to 1,569 Boeing 747s and 561 Airbus A300s, this explains why the Boeing 737 has been involved in the highest number of plane crashes and deaths.
When looking at the data in this way, you can argue that the Boeing 737 is one of the safer commercial airliners, despite being the plane that has crashed most often in the history of commercial aviation.
In other words, there is no correlation between the model of aircraft an airline uses and its likelihood to crash.
To further illustrate this, Southwest is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 737, yet has only been involved in 3 plane crashes, and has only experienced 1 fatality.
Ella Dunham, a Freelance Travel Journalist and Marketing Manager, boasts an impressive career spanning eight years in the travel and tourism sectors.
Honored as one of "30 Under 30" by TTG Media (the world’s very first weekly travel trade newspaper), a "Tour Operator Travel Guru" and "Legend Award" winner, Ella is also a Fellow of the Institute of Travel, a Member of the Association of Women Travel Executives, has completed over 250 travel modules, and hosts travel-focused segments on national radio shows where she provides insights on travel regulations and destinations.
Ella has visited over 40 countries (with 10 more planned this year).
