BWI airport passengers, aviation experts say flying is safe despite recent airplane crashes

CBS News

19-02-2025

After a turbulent start to 2025 in the skies, passengers at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport believe it is still safe to fly because of the strict federal regulations in place.
On Monday, emergency crews responded to a Delta Air Lines plane crash at Toronto Pearson Airport that was arriving from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The aircraft ultimately landing upside down amid wintry conditions.
Several passengers were taken to the hospital with injuries and each passenger was accounted for.
Flights at BWI Marshall were not interrupted because of Monday's crash in Toronto.
Meanwhile, Reizelie Barreto, who was flying to San Juan, P.R, said she flies several times per year and isn't planning on changing her habits, adding that there are similar dangers on the roads.
"Be confident that the people that are flying have the knowledge and the expertise to do so. They're not rookies. Fear should not be holding us back," Barreto said.
Cynthia Tinsley, who was visiting family in Annapolis and was flying back to Charleston, S.C., told WJZ she feels safe traveling by airplane.
"There's a spate of them right now, but it's really been good up until this point, for quite a few years," Tinsley said. "I just am interested to find out what has happened on all of these different planes, and I'm interested to see what NTSB comes up with."
More plane crashes in 2025
The plane crash in Toronto comes weeks after a midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport. All passengers and crew died in the crash.
Two days later, a Leer medical jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing all six passengers and one person who was on the ground.
How safe is flying?
Several major plane crashes are under investigation and hundreds of probationary employees are being let go from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Commercial pilot Josh Schirard says at any given moment 5,000 planes are in the air and that thousands of flights takeoff and land safely each day.
"It has been a very unusual time for aviation inside the U.S," Schirard said. "Yes, three incidents in the last 30 days is too many, and we need to take a look at how we can quell some of those fears and what we can do in the future to prevent those. It is still the safest mode of transportation."
Aviation experts maintain that flying is safe in part because of the already strict FAA guidelines, but also because of the rigorous crew training, which played out on the runway in Toronto. All 80 passengers walked away from the crash with two passengers still hospitalized.
"They go through exhaustive scenarios to, to protect passengers. I think that you can have the confidence when you step on a plane," said Sean Cudahy, aviation reporter with "The Points Guy."
Schirard says the measures already in place are keeping passengers safe. He says the Delta flight was traveling 120 mph before landing and lost its wings and tails in Toronto.
"The state of technology today, the engineering and then the professionalism, the training and the expertise of the crew to evacuate all of those people is second to none," Schirard said.
Developing safety standards
The Flight Safety Foundation works with airlines, manufacturers, regulators and air traffic controllers to develop safety standards. The foundation says it is concerned about the incidents this year, but the skies are safe.
"We have a safe air transportation system in this country," said Hassan Shahidi, the CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation. "We have thousands of flights that take off and land every day without any issues. We have trained pilots and air traffic controllers who are doing their jobs very well, but we have seen these incidents and accidents that are very concerning."
Schirard says a major helicopter route is currently shut down along the Potomac River, which he called necessary. He also says there could be additional maintenance guidelines after the Philadelphia plane crashed, in which he says the cause appears to be a mechanical issue.
After initial reports indicate weather may have been a problem in Toronto, Schirard hopes additional information and data will be provided to pilots to assess the runways before landing.
"A more scientific way to help us gauge how we are going to be able to stop that airplane and how well its going to do on the runway would really be helpful," Schirard said.
Investigating the crashes
As the NTSB and FAA investigate these crashes, including assisting with the investigation in Toronto, Shahidi says the conclusions will be critical. He adds that these are seemingly isolated incidents.
"The question for the investigators and for regulators, is there anything systemic in this? There really isn't anything systemic that links these accidents together," Shahidi explained.