![When Planes Crash [OC]](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/33uq11icjmzf1-1024x506.png "When Planes Crash [OC]")
Data from IATA https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/interactive-safety-report/
There is more there so you can drill down to find 'fatal passenger in Europe' etc if you want to.
Python matplotlib code and data at https://gist.github.com/cavedave/69b717d1e1740343bfe92be4ebe20abb
Posted by cavedave
36 Comments
Technically they all land when they crash.
I guess they never crash on ascent after initial climb.
Data from IATA [https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/interactive-safety-report/](https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/interactive-safety-report/)
Date range 2002-june 2025
There is more there so you can drill down to find ‘fatal passenger in Europe’ etc if you want to.
Python matplotlib code and data at [https://gist.github.com/cavedave/69b717d1e1740343bfe92be4ebe20abb](https://gist.github.com/cavedave/69b717d1e1740343bfe92be4ebe20abb)
What is Tom Cruise’s problem with planes?
Edit: embarrassing typo
I’d love to see these sorted by the order they occur in on an average flight.
Real question: how do they crash (have an accident) “parked post arrival” or is that another way to say they were struck by something?
OP did a fine job with this. Another interesting display might be to collapse relate categories into (1) Going Up; (2) Going Down; (3) Cruising. As long they can maintain flight w/o taking off or landing, things look fine. 🙂
What is the date range on this?
Was there plane manufacture and maintenance data as well?
Is this fatal crashes or all crashes?
Seems like Landing is the problem, ban planes from doing that and safety should get much better
I’m at the airport preparing to fly out so thanks for this.
Should it not say “landing” with apostrophes?
So the trick is to avoid landing! Got it!
Is this only commercial or does it include private?
“Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you.”
Wanted to give a huge Thanks OP to /u/cavedave. Super interesting stuff
Have they ever tried not landing? Seems like a no brainer for safety. Are they stupid?
Yeah, it’d be nice to see “landing” broken out into “was already having issues and then landing went poorly” and “everything was/seemed fine until landing”. Though that might not be in the original data, I haven’t looked at it.
This is a Norm Macdonald joke.
(Also great job with the data.)
They should stop taxis from getting near planes
I’d be curious what an “accident” is and how its defined? Most “accidents” happen during “landing” but when you view “fatal accidents” “approach” dominates and other phases are much closer to landing.
To me, this suggests “accident” includes a lot of minor things. I’m more interested in the big shit though…
There should be another chart showing by % of total flying fatalities per phases.
Offsetting the landing phase with parachute jumps would drastically reduce the statistical probability of an accident?
think the bar thats missing in all of these graphs is a “no accidents on flight” bar
Man, if you’re a pilot and you crash your plane during preflight, you should think about a different career.
A perspective worth depicting is % of accidents resulting in fatalities by phase of flight. IIRC, Takeoff is actually the most dangerous phase if you go by least survivable accidents
Actually the VAST MAJORITY of flight accidents occurs when the plane lands (was in the air and touch the ground)
Technically all planes crash on the landing
This is why the 9/11 guys were willing to takeoff but unwilling to land. It was just too dangerous.
Annoying, it would be nicer to die on takeoff so you don’t have to sit through a boring plane ride
When I was learning to fly my instructor pointed out the basic logic behind this fact.
Airplanes are built to fly, it’s what they “want” to do. To execute a successful landing, you have to make the plane stop doing its natural thing at a precise moment in time at a precise location.
Try parking your car where you want it by shifting into neutral and coasting, without using the brakes. That’s a bit like landing a plane.
Stuff like this makes people believe flying is inherently dangerous. Would love to see a chart with a % chance of it happening on a flight. Bet we’re looking at 0.00x% or even less.
And this is why all those clever ideas about parachutes on planes and similar don’t really make much sense.
More than 95% of incidents happen while the plane is on the ground or launching or landing.
Once you are high up in the air you are mostly safe, it is getting anywhere near the ground that is the dangerous part of air travel.
Take-offs are optional but landings are required.
Are these people on the plane having an accident or the plane having an accident?
Like someone bumping their head, falling over, with enough injury to be recorded. So yeah when landing people getting out their seat before it’s landed and then whack, stay in your damn seat till told to do get up.