What Is Going on With Planes Recently? A Plane With 10 Passengers En Route to Alaska Goes Missing

Recently, the aviation world has been struck by a series of disturbing events, leading many travelers to question the safety of flying.

In a short span of time, there have been several plane crashes, accidents, and close calls that have caught the public's attention and sparked widespread concern.

One of the more devastating incidents occurred with Azerbaijan Airlines, where the crash claimed the lives of multiple people. Following this, there was a deadly crash involving a South Korean flight operated by Jeju Air. This tragic accident saw 181 passengers on board, with only two survivors making it out alive.

Aftermath of the Jeju Air crash.

Shortly after, a South Sudanese flight crashed, resulting in one survivor and 20 fatalities, further exacerbating fears about the reliability of modern aviation.

But these incidents didn’t stop there. Just last week, two major crashes made headlines in the U.S. — one in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people, and another in Philadelphia that took 7 lives and injured 19 others.

Rescue teams search the crash site of American Airlines Flight 5342 near the Potomac River.

These events have only intensified the anxiety surrounding air travel.

According to experts, flying remains the safest mode of transportation despite the recent uptick in accidents. "Given the fact that there were two incidents that were pretty large in the past seven days, I would say people that are on the fence about whether or not to book that vacation are probably hesitant to do that," explained Michaela Renee Johnson, a psychotherapist and licensed aviator.

"People tend to immediately think, 'Uh-oh, they all must be unsafe, and it must be a huge risk for me to fly' — and they question whether or not they should get on the next flight they have scheduled," she stated.

Travelers’ heightened apprehension is understandable, given the increasing frequency of these incidents.

On the internet, the concerns are more vocal than ever. A Reddit user posted on the popular r/fearofflying thread, voicing anxiety over the surge in aviation failures.

Many commenters tried to reassure the user, suggesting that while the recent string of crashes may seem ominous, they are likely unrelated and not indicative of any larger systemic problem.

However, it seems that the concern surrounding aviation safety is only intensifying.

In what may add more fuel to the fire, a Bering Air plane carrying 10 people has gone missing while en route to Alaska.

The plane, which was carrying nine passengers and one pilot, disappeared without a trace, and the cause of the disappearance remains unknown. Bad weather in the area is being cited as a potential factor, though this is not yet confirmed.

A major search and rescue operation has been launched, with the Alaska State Troopers confirming the details of the missing flight.

Last known location of the aircraft (Via Flightradar24)

The U.S. Coast Guard has dispatched a C-130 aircraft to assist in the search, and the U.S. Air Force has deployed additional air support from Elmendorf Air Force Base. Ground crews are also actively combing the area in hopes of locating the missing plane.

As the search continues, the public remains on edge, and questions about the safety of flying are becoming more urgent. With a string of crashes, disappearances, and accidents making headlines, many are left wondering: Is this an unusually dangerous time to be flying, or is it just the result of a statistical anomaly?

Are we witnessing the start of a new wave of aviation disasters, or are these events just isolated incidents that do not represent a larger trend?