it's funny how airlines always say that flying is safer than driving, but they're just manipulating the statistics. the fatality rate for airlines is 1182 per 100 million flight hours. that works out to 2.36 per 100 million miles, assuming an average of 500mph. the fatality rate for automobiles is 1.45 per 100 million miles. http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx the above is for commercial aviation. general aviation (small planes) is far worse. i conclude that airlines are full of shit.
You have a one-in-six-million chance of dying in a terrorist attack but you have a one-in-three-million chance of dying from a Coke machine falling on top of you. Always sumpin.
Which is safer flying or driving? Fatalities per million trips Odds of being killed on a single trip Airliner (Part 121) 0.019 52.6 million to 1 Automobile 0.130 7.6 million to 1 Commuter Airline (Part 135 scheduled) 1.72 581,395 to 1 Commuter Plane (Part 135 - Air taxi on demand) 6.10 163,934 to 1 General Aviation (Part 91) 13.3 73,187 to 1 Sources: NTSB Accidents and Accident Rates by NTSB Classification 1995-2004 DOT Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1995- 2004 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm You've most probably missread something as airline stats are normally stated in trips or hours flown not miles.
i didn't misread anything. i'm certain you didn't bother to read the whole post. the stat i used was deaths per million HOURS of flight time, and i converted it into deaths per miles flown.
this is the typical stupid stat the airlines like to use to prove flying is safer. normalized against miles flown/driven and driving is far safer.