Flying Fear and Safety Insights

It has been a difficult month for Americans afraid of flying. On Jan. 29, an American Airlines jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. It was the first major U.S. commercial airline crash in more than 15 years and in the weeks since, there has been coverage of more plane crashes, accidents and near misses across the country.

If headlines like these give you anxiety, you are not alone. According to polling from the AP, the share of Americans who say flying is somewhat or very unsafe has increased, from 12 percent a year ago to 20 percent this month. And that poll found something else. The decrease in trust Americans have in flying is not spread evenly across partisan groups. Republicans’ feelings about air travel remain virtually unchanged from 12 months ago, while trust has fallen among Democrats and independents.

In this installment of the 538 Politics podcast, Galen discusses the data with CNN Senior Data Reporter and 538 alumnus himself Harry Enten.

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