A devastating plane crash in Washington, D.C. occurred on Jan. 25, with American Airlines flight 5342 colliding mid-air with a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The accident killed everyone on board both aircraft.
Between January and February, there have been five deadly crashes that have killed all passengers on board the aircraft. The accidents have sparked discussion online and around MSU’s campus regarding the cause of these plane crashes and the question as to whether or not flying is still a safe option when choosing to travel. Following the public’s concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) put out a statement on Feb. 27 stating the following:
“Today’s visit reaffirmed how being an air traffic controller is one of the best, most rewarding jobs in America, and that the next generation at the Academy is the best in the world. I witnessed firsthand the dedication, skill, and rigor that our future air traffic controllers bring to their training and the urgent need to do all that we can recruit more people to join in our shared mission of safety in our skies.”
However, by asking MSU students their thoughts and opinions on how secure they feel, they responded in different ways.
Brett Rosenbaum, an out-of-state student from Long Island, New York, who’s an art education major at MSU, says he has always disliked flying from an early age. When asked whether he feels a shift in airline safety after the numerous crashes, Rosenbaum says he has not felt a change. He feels it is the fastest way to go back and forth from school.
“I’m fine, flying is not my first choice but economically it’s my only option. I haven’t noticed any changes in flight or safety briefing.”
Other students like Rachel Levy, another out-of-state student from Hollywood, Florida, studying kinesiology at MSU, say that the recent spike in crashes has made her extremely nervous.
“I was never scared of flying, but the recent crashes make me extremely nervous,” Levy said. “I hold on to the seat now when the flight takes off. I feel like the crashes that happened were due to irresponsibility. It makes me extremely nervous because I have to travel so far from home to get to school, I physically can’t make the drive, and I get extremely anxious on planes now.”
Levy expressed a lack of comfort when flying, citing people on social media expressing their concerns as having an influence. A big part of the frustration comes from her inability to drive back home, making flying the only way she can travel there efficiently.
In the coming months, when students head back home for summer and families go on vacation, students are hoping for a more calming flying experience as well as a sense of ease from the airlines themselves. For many, there is no better option than flying to reach their destination. To ease anxiety, a statistic from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that driving causes 7.3 deaths while flying causes 0.7 deaths per year. Which shows that it is statistically safer to fly than to drive.