The recent deaths of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers in a tragic helicopter wreck in California is likely still fresh in most people’s minds, and has led to many questions on the overall safety of air travel.

However, the fear of flying is largely unfounded according to Jonathan Walter, owner of Perry Municipal Airport’s fixed-based operator Walter Aviation. Walter emphasizes that air travel is largely safer than driving a car, and the yearly fatality statistics support that claim. He points out that flying is certainly not without risks, but there’s a large amount of training and safety precautions that pilots and aircraft must meet in order to take off. “If you vet the operator and you make sure that they are certified, they’re qualified, and they’re keeping up to the standard safety measures, then there’s really nothing to worry about. That’s what aviation is built off of, it’s had an exceptionally good safety record. And unfortunately when there is an accident, because it is so unique and it’s so rare with being an aircraft, it generally gets much more media attention; and so that’s all people unfortunately hear about. But there’s a lot of flights going on every day, and people are traveling safely every single day.”

While the exact cause of the helicopter wreck involving Bryant is still unknown, initial reports indicated adverse weather conditions likely played a factor, specifically dense fog. Walter says while he’s unsure of the specific circumstances in that case, extremely low visibility and ice are the two conditions that will almost always ground any type of aircraft. To learn more about air travel safety, listen to Wednesday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program.