Why Flying Has Never Been Safer

Technical improvements, new regulations and changes in corporate culture, combined with plain luck, help explain the numbers

By Scott McCartney. Excerpt:

"Big business also deserves some credit for reducing accidents. Major banks and large aircraft-leasing companies now make new planes available to airlines in less-developed countries at affordable prices. That squeezes out small leasing companies renting old, poorly maintained aircraft to startup airlines.

To safeguard their investment, big leasing companies and banks require top-notch maintenance on planes, and monitor how airlines use them. That’s created an important check against cutting corners.

“You have a revolution in the business side,” Mr. Voss says. Leasing companies and multinational airline groups “have aligned the interests of big money to support safety, rather than undermine it.”"