Here’s When a Plane Is Most Likely to Crash, According to Boeing

If you’re paranoid about plane crashes or afraid of flying, this may help you or hurt you: Boeing has narrowed down data from thousands of flights to determine the exact times a plane is most likely and least likely to crash. And it’s probably not when you’d expect, either.

First off, don’t worry. Plane travel is very safe. There’s only a one in 11 million chance of getting into a plane crash. But if you are that unlucky percentage, pay close attention during takeoff and landing.

A new study released by Boeing shows that the about half of all fatal plane crashes occur during the final descent and landing. It’s only 4 percent of the total trip for most flights, but accounts for 48 percent of all crashes. The second highest accident probability is during take off and the initial ascent: 13 percent of fatal crashes happened during that time.

The study analyzed international flight data from commercial flights between 2007 and 2016 in order to compile these percentages. All in all, it found cruising time on the flight, which is the majority of a plane ride, to be the safest—only 11 percent of fatal accidents happened while the plane was flying at altitude.

Christine Negroni, author of The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World’s Most Mysterious Air Disasters, told The Sun several ways to avoid the unlikely event of a plane crash and stay safe if you’re in one: don’t fly cheap airlines, unless it’s the no-frills ones that charge for everything; pay attention to the safety announcements so you know what to do and can help others who may be panicking; stay awake until it’s safe to remove your seat belt; keep your shoes on so your feet aren’t damaged by anything you may run on during an evacuation; keep your seat belt on at all times; and leave the headphones off during takeoff and landing so you can hear important announcements.

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