Crashing safer?

I’m reluctant to fly in a commercial aircraft, even though I have a private pilot’s license. Perhaps some of the reluctance comes from the associated aggravations of post-Sept. 11 realities. Or maybe I’ve seen too many disaster movies.

But a story in The New York Times Week in Review might change my attitude:

Since 1999, passengers, crew and pilots have walked away from commercial jet crashes around the world at least a half-dozen times, with few injuries or deaths.

And in the United States, of the 26 passenger jet accidents that took place from 1983 to 2000, 1,525 of the 2,736 passengers and crew, or 56 percent, survived, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates accidents.

Statistically, flying is the safest way to travel, airline buffs say. That fact never helped me sit through turbulence calmly.

The story’s an interesting look at major plane crashes and survival rates and reasons over the past several years. It might prompt me to consider my next plane trip with a little less trepidation.

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