Top 10 Safest Airlines in the US - AirAdvisor Ranking 2025

Amy Lancelotte

By:  Amy Lancelotte

10 minutes read

Last Updated:  22 December 2025

Reviewed by:  Anton Radchenko

Anyone who is planning to book a flight likely has the question of “What is the safest airline?” cross their mind. If you can choose an airline with a recently flawless safety record, why wouldn’t you? We reviewed all the International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics available on accidents that occurred in 2023 and 2024. We found that:

• The worldwide airline industry experienced 65 passenger airline accidents in 2023 and 2024.
• Seven of these accidents had fatalities - 322 people in total.
• Three of the US-based major passenger airlines were involved in an accident in these 2 years (a total of 9 accidents).

None of the US airline accidents had any fatalities.

 

Read on for more details about the individual accidents and which airlines had a perfect accident-free record in the last 2 years.

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The Safest Airlines in the US

According to IATA, these 7 airlines did not have any accidents in 2023 or 2024. So, it’s nearly impossible to determine which is the safest airline among them. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Allegiant Air

Allegiant Air had zero accidents in 2023 and 2024, and their most recent accident dates back to March 29, 2007. It involved the plane’s landing gear and resulted in significant damage, but there were no fatalities. It’s good to know that even ultra-low-cost carriers take safety extremely seriously, and you don’t have to spend a fortune for a safe flight.

American Airlines

Another of the accident-free airlines in both years, you don’t have to go nearly as far back to find American Airlines’ most recent accident. It was on March 21, 2020, and was the result of a tail strike when the plane was landing. No fatalities occurred, but the plane was substantially damaged. 

If you’re unaware of the term, a tail strike, although somewhat self-explanatory, happens when the empennage (the stabilizing structures at the aircraft’s tail) or the tail itself hits the ground or a stationary object. Remember this term because it’s going to come up again!

It’s nice to know that American Airlines has a stellar safety record. The airline is the largest in the US in terms of passenger volume, so the chances are good that you’ll board one of their planes during your travels, if you haven’t already.

Frontier Airlines

Although Frontier Airlines had no incidents in 2023 or 2024, the carrier did have one in 2022 involving a tail strike. It occurred on May 18, 2022, during the landing of flight F9-810 at Trenton-Mercer Airport. The plane struck the runway when it landed, but was able to taxi to the gate without further issues.

Frontier Airlines had a similar accident on December 21, 2021, which was also a tail strike on landing. Despite these two most recent accidents, where neither resulted in any fatalities, Frontier remains a safe choice for air travel. And when price is a factor, you can’t beat this budget carrier, which was the top choice in our ranking for the cheapest airlines in the US.

Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines was also accident-free in 2023 and 2024. Their most recent accident occurred on September 23, 2021, and involved a tail strike on landing. The accident was non-fatal but did result in plane damage. This good record is certainly nice to know, as Hawaiian has so many other positives. In fact, for 2025, it was the overall winner on our list of the 10 Best Airlines in the US.

JetBlue Airways

Report no 2023 or 2024 accidents, JetBlue did have a recent one in 2022. The plane suffered a tail strike during takeoff from Colorado’s Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport. After the tail strike, the plane did take off but made a hard right-hand turn, which would have been very unpleasant for anyone on board. The plane was able to continue its ascent, but for safety reasons, it was diverted to Denver International Airport, where it was able to land without incident.

JetBlue is a well-regarded discount airline that’s one of the most comfortable airlines to fly in the US, so it definitely has other positives.

Southwest Airlines

In the case of Southwest Airlines, they are also among the airlines with zero recent accidents. This low-cost carrier’s most recent accident was on June 17, 2019, and wasn’t a danger to the passengers on board. The accident occurred when a catering truck struck the plane. Passengers would have encountered a significant delay while a new plane was located. And if you’ve ever experienced a flight delay of 3 hours or more, it’s worth determining if you’re eligible for flight delay compensation from the airline.

If we go just a little further back, Southwest Airlines is the only carrier on our list that had a fatal accident. On April 17, 2018, on a flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Dallas, an engine exploded in mid-air. Tragically, there was one fatality, and 7 others sustained injuries. Before this accident, the last time a passenger died on a US airline was in 2009.

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Spirit Airlines

With no accidents in 2023 or 2024, we actually have to go all the way back to September 18, 2005, to find an accident on a Spirit Airlines passenger flight. It was a hard landing that resulted in significant plane damage, but there were no fatalities. This incident is the only accident from this super-low-cost airline since 2000. That’s a solid safety record and rounds out the top 7 safest US airlines for 2025!

The Other 3 Airlines - Accidents in 2023 or 2024

Can you deduce the final 3 airlines with the most recent accidents? These are ranked in order of the number of accidents during the period, and again, there were no fatalities.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines was completely accident-free in 2024, but the same can’t be said for 2023. They had a single accident on August 20, 2023. The accident occurred on flight 1288 from Seattle to Santa Ana when the landing gear punched through the plane’s wing.

No doubt that this was a scary experience with sparks flying due to the damage, and the passengers experienced a definite hard landing. Luckily, there were no fatalities – it was just the plane that experienced substantial damage and was likely related to Tropical Storm Hilary. 

Before the 2023 incident, we have to go way back to December 26, 2005, to find an Alaska Airlines accident. The incident involved ground damage and was also non-fatal.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines had 2 notable non-fatal accidents in 2023. The first was on June 28 on flight 1092 from Atlanta to Charlotte. The plane had an issue with the nose landing gear and had to land using only the main gear and the actual nose of the plane. Remarkably, there were no injuries.

The second accident was on July 24 for a flight intended to go from Milan Malpensa Airport to New York’s JFK Airport. The plane was significantly damaged during a hailstorm and had to make an emergency landing in Rome.

Although not specifically classed as an accident, as the plane had already landed, on May 6, 2024, Delta flight 604 from Cancun to Seattle was involved in a scary safety issue when a fire broke out under the cockpit once grounded at Sea-Tac Airport. 

The 189 passengers had to leave their belongings and slide urgently down the evacuation chute. Although no injuries were reported, this was not the welcome home the vacationing passengers expected. Upon initial review, it is thought that the fire started due to a spark when the plane plugged into the airport’s ground power after landing.

United Airlines

United Airlines is technically the worst safety performer for 2023 and 2024, with a total of 6 different accidents. On March 22, 2023, a tail strike upon landing occurred on a flight from Mexico City to Houston. Similarly, on July 29, 2023, flight UA702 from Newark Airport to Houston had a hard landing. There was also a problem with a rejected takeoff due to an engine fire on a United flight on September 30, 2023.

Lastly (for 2023), on August 3, a flight from Washington-Dulles International Airport to London Heathrow had a landing gear issue. After takeoff, the crew noticed an issue, and the plane stayed in a holding pattern. It then made a low pass over Washington-Dulles runway 19L so that the damage could be evaluated. It was noted that the plane experienced severe damage and was able to land safely back at Washington-Dulles Airport instead of continuing on to Heathrow.

In 2024, a further 2 incidents troubled United Airlines and its passengers. A runway excursion was caused by a main gear collapse on March 8, and on January 10, there was another tail strike.

None of these accidents resulted in passenger or crew fatalities.

AirAdvisor US Airline Safety Rating - Carriers with Recent Accidents

Our Data

To determine what is the safest airline in the US, we examined all the data published by IATA on the documented carrier accidents in 2023 and 2024. Any airline with an accident-free record is at the top of the list in alphabetical order. 

Of the 3 airlines with accidents, they are ranked by the number of individual events.

Conclusion

Flying is the safest way to travel long distances, so don’t let this discussion of accidents deter you from hopping on a plane. To give you an idea, in 2018, there were over 46 million flights and an annual fatal accident rate of 0.28 per million flights. That means that for every 4.2 million flights, there was one fatal accident.

When we look at each airline’s most recent accident history, the news is also very positive. Zero fatalities are the main thing, and the most common event, a tail strike, doesn’t usually cause severe injuries, either.

Keep the AirAdvisor Safety Score in mind the next time you’re booking a flight, but if you stick to any of the 10 airlines on our list, you can trust that safety is a number 1 priority.

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Author:

Amy Lancelotte

Job/Position: Senior Writer & Content Creator

Amy Lancelotte is a Senior Content Writer and editorial contributor at AirAdvisor with more than seven years of experience producing research-driven articles for global audiences. Her work focuses on travel, aviation, and air passenger rights, with an emphasis on factual accuracy, verified data, and clear, reader-first explanations.

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