Getting on a plane is not always something usual and sometimes strange to the point that it can cause concern. About one in three passengers is not reassured when boarding a plane, fearing an accident. This is called aerodromophobia.
Only this fear is far from being rational, often caused by ignorance or misconceptions. We are afraid of what we don't know or understand. A 400-ton plane that stays in the air for hours may seem crazy. In addition to this ignorance, there is the power of imagination, the power that the plane can explode or crash.
However, this means of transport is still the safest way to travel, compared to the kilometres travelled.
If all the engines of a wide-body aircraft stopped, the plane could glide for about 25 minutes slowly down 200 kilometres and not suddenly fall (this closely resembles the principle of the moon falling on the earth but never crashing on it).
Every year, nearly two and a half billion people use the plane and out of about 30 million annual movements, there are only a few dozen accidents that are not always dramatic. Statistically, it would take 40,000 years to have a fatal accident.
In addition, over the past 20-30 years, air safety has improved considerably. In 25 years, the number of passengers has more than doubled and the number of deaths has been divided by 4.