At least 260 people have died in Ahmedabad after an Air India flight crashed into a building, mere seconds after taking off.
The disaster is the latest in a string of commercial airplane crashes that have killed hundreds of people.
At the start of the year, an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter over Washington, killing 67.
Then in March, 13 people were killed in a devastating incident off the island of Ruatan.
According to expert analysis, 2025 is one of the deadliest years for air travel in the past decade.
With only one confirmed survivor, yesterday’s tragedy brings this year’s total airflight fatalities to 460 in just the first six months of the year.
So, is air travel really becoming more dangerous? MailOnline spoke to the experts to find out.
As the crash of Air India Flight 171 (pictured) kills 241 passengers, 2025 is one of the deadliest years for air travel in the past decade.
Yesterday, a Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 jetliner crashed into a populated area only minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, resulting in the deaths of all but one passenger
While the aviation industry maintains exceptionally high safety standards, the recent string of high-profile incidents has raised concerns that flying may be becoming more risky.
The average number of deaths during flights per year currently stands at 284, according to Jan-Arwed Richter, founder of Jacdec, a German consulting firm that tracks aviation safety.
That means 2025 has already had almost double the average number of air travel deaths.
Mr Richter told Bloomberg: ‘This year still has more than six months to go, so this could be concerning if this rate of fatal accidents would go on.’
While many people will likely now have concerns about the safety of air travel, experts reassure that flying is not getting more dangerous.
Dr Simon Bennett, director of the civil safety and security unit at the University of Leicester, told MailOnline: ‘That perception is understandable because safety goes through peaks and troughs.
‘So if you take a snapshot at a particular time it can either look like things are getting seriously dangerous or that things are getting seriously safe.’
2025’s high level of fatalities comes on the back of one of the safest periods in the history of air travel.
This tragic crash was one of the deadliest since Malaysia Airways Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine
In 2023, industry groups found that there was not a single fatal incident throughout the entire year.
However, a series of high-profile events starting from the end of 2024 have grabbed the public attention.
While these incidents create an illusion of escalating danger, this is not reflected in the statistical reality.
As the Air India tragedy unfolded, the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch published its annual safety review for 2024.
This review concluded: ‘Commercial aviation remains one of the safest forms of public transport, with global accident rates continuing their long-term decline.’
Dr Bennett points out that aviation experts only look at averages over longer periods, to avoid being biased by big spikes associated with single incidents.
‘If you take a 20-year snapshot, then air safety is unequivocally improving,’ he explained.
However, the experts also points out that it is extremely difficult to convince people of this fact.
The crash has sparked concerns that air travel may be becoming more dangerous: Pictured: rescuers carry a body away from the crash site in Ahmedabad
The plane explodes in a fireball on impact. It never made it more than 400ft above the ground
‘You will be safer five miles above than you would be at home, that is a fact. But if you tell the public that they won’t believe you,’ he said.
‘My deepest sympathies go out to those who’ve been affected, but I would beg the public to consider such events in the widest possible context.’
As for what has caused this ‘trough’ in air flight safety, there may be a number of reasons with economic causes being the most likely.
Dr Bennett says that downturns in the fortunes of airflight industries lead to reduced investment in safety which can spark an increase in near misses and incidents.
Until the official investigation concludes, it is impossible to confirm exactly what led to the crash of Indian Airlines Flight 171.
However, it currently appears that environmental and mechanical issues may have combined to prevent the flight from gaining altitude properly.
Dr Sammy Diasinos, an aerodynamics researcher at Macquarie University, says: ‘The B787 has very powerful engines and can easily operate if one engine fails, so for this accident to occur, we would be looking at a very rare double engine failure.
‘I would expect this highlights an environmental cause rather than an engine or maintenance issue.
Despite these shocking events, air travel experts say that flying has not become more dangerous overall. Pictured: Parts of Air India Flight 171 after the crash
Extreme events create an impression of heightened risk, but the statistics show that flying is safer now than it was in the past. Pictured: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) visiting the site of the crash
‘It would be very unusual for two engines on the same aircraft to be on the exact same maintenance schedule, making simultaneous mechanical failure unlikely.’
Experts point out that the hot conditions and the flight’s full fuel would have meant it needed extra time to gain altitude – something which it appeared unable to do.
With temperatures on the runway at 37°C (98°F), the flight would have needed significantly more lift to gain altitude.
Additionally, Flight 171 appeared to have both its landing gear deployed and flaps retracted at an altitude of only 600ft (182m) causing it to have a lower lift.
Murray Terwey, an aviation lecturer at Edith Conway University, said: ‘Aircrew have been known in the past to retract the flap instead of the gear by mistake.
‘This, in the early stages of flight, can lead to a significant loss of lift which can lead to an accident.’
However, the exact combination of factors which led to this incident will only be revealed in a full investigation by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .
