NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- After two years of a nearly flawless safety record, airlines are again under the microscope following a rash of accidents that have left 59 people dead.
But airline industry experts say the recent plane crashes in New York City, Buffalo, N.Y., London and Amsterdam aren't related, and that they're only attention grabbing now after years of improving safety standards and falling fatalities.
"It's one of those coincidental things," said Todd Curtis, an aviation expert and founder of AirSafe.com. "Clearly, because of the world we live in, when you have events like this it gets a lot of attention and the public perception of aviation safety is heightened, but the risk continues to decrease."
Indeed, the number of international accidents for this year is down sharply, with just 5 substantial accidents -- those where the aircraft's hull has been breached -- for all of January compared to 15 last year, said Martine Ohayon, a spokesperson with the International Air Transport Association, or IATA.
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