Have US aviation accidents increased in 2025?

No — available data through July 2025 do not show an increase in the number of US aviation accidents compared with recent years. From January–July 2025 there were 623 accidents vs. 729 in the same period of 2024, continuing a long-term downward trend in accident counts.

Why do plane crash headlines feel worse — are fatalities up?

Yes — fatalities are higher so far in 2025, driven by several large, deadly crashes (e.g., the Potomac River mid-air collision, Bering Air Flight 445, and other major incidents). A rise in deaths from a few large accidents can occur even when the overall accident count is stable or falling.

Could the pandemic or staffing issues be skewing the picture?

Partly. The 2020 COVID downturn produced an outlier low in flights and accidents, so recent year-to-year comparisons can be misleading unless adjusted for exposure (flight hours). Analyses that use accidents per flight-hour show very low rates in 2021–22. Staffing and ageing ATC infrastructure are valid concerns being addressed, but they haven’t translated into a documented nationwide rise in accident rates in 2025.