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Americans’ confidence in aviation has slipped following a string of plane crashes in 2025, according to a new poll.
As of this year 64% of Americans said they believe air travel is very or somewhat safe, marking a decrease from 71% of Americans who indicated so last year, said the poll, conducted by AP-NORC and released on Wednesday.
It also found that two in 10 Americans believe planes are very or somewhat unsafe, a 12% increase from 2024.
Public confidence in pilots and the federal government to maintain air safety has also dipped.
In 2024, the AP-NORC poll reported that 45% of Americans indicated they had a great deal of confidence in pilots, and 20% said they had great confidence in federal government agencies. This year those figures dropped to 41% and 13% respectively.
Public confidence in air traffic controllers has also dipped – from 40% of Americans last year to 35% this year.
There have been a series of aviation collisions in recent weeks. On 30 January an American Airlines plane collided with an army helicopter above the Potomac River in Washington DC, killing all 67 people on both the plane and helicopter. It was the US’s deadliest aviation disaster since 2009 when a Colgan Air plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board, as well as a person on the ground.
The day after the Washington DC collision, a medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother and four other people crashed into a north-east Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven people. Several homes were also engulfed in flames as a result of the crash.
On 6 February, a small commuter plane carrying 10 people across Alaska’s Norton Sound crashed in the western part of the state, killing all 10 people onboard.
Then on Monday a Delta Air Lines jet carrying 80 passengers and crew crash-landed at Toronto Pearson airport and flipped over. Twenty-one people were transported to the hospital following the crash but everyone survived.
Following the string of crashes there has been a spike in Google searches for “Is it safe to fly,” according to multiple reports, as well as “How many plane crashes in 2025” and “Why are planes crashing”.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted from 6 to 10 February, and surveyed 1,112 adults.
On 14 February, the Trump administration began firing hundreds of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including some who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure.
According to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (Pass) union, “several hundred” workers received termination notices that day. They did not include air traffic controllers, but the union said positions terminated included maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, environmental protection specialists, aviation safety assistants and management administration personnel.
The FAA has been contacted for comment.
