Airline pilot reveals shocking reason why he thinks so many planes are really crashing right now
Plane crashes are something most people don’t want to think about, but they’ve been making headlines lately and causing concern. Since the start of 2025, there have been 49 aircraft accidents around the world, with over 250 lives lost.
This includes both commercial and private planes, as well as military aircraft. Some of the most talked-about incidents include an Air India plane that crashed on its way to London and a collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter over Washington, D.C.
It’s starting to feel like flying is becoming more dangerous, even though air travel is still statistically one of the safest ways to travel. But a former airline pilot and crash investigator, Shawn Pruchnicki, has spoken out to explain why he thinks these accidents are happening more often.
Pruchnicki flew for Delta Connection for ten years and now teaches aviation safety at Ohio State University. He said he wasn’t surprised when he heard about the recent crash involving the Black Hawk helicopter. In fact, he’s been worried for a long time that a serious incident like that was only a matter of time.
He shared a personal story from when he was flying: after landing at JFK airport in New York, he was instructed to cross a runway. But something didn’t feel right to him and his crew — they didn’t think the pilot of a landing 747 nearby could stop in time. So they decided to wait. Moments later, that 747 sped past them, confirming their fears. If they had followed the instruction to cross, there would have been a crash.
Pruchnicki says one of the biggest reasons for the increase in crashes is the serious shortage of air traffic controllers. These are the people who guide planes safely through the skies and help avoid collisions. But many of them are overworked and under extreme pressure, and that increases the risk of deadly mistakes.
Another issue is that airlines are hiring and promoting pilots more quickly than before, often without giving them enough time to gain experience. While there’s no official study proving this is directly causing more crashes, he believes that putting less-experienced pilots in the cockpit without proper support is a dangerous trend.
Pruchnicki says it’s urgent that we invest in better training, hire more qualified people — especially air traffic controllers — and build technology that helps humans do their jobs better, not replaces them. He admits that flying is still safe, but the margin for error is shrinking. If nothing changes, we could see even more tragic accidents in the near future.
