United Airlines has a safety record that is tracked and published by federal regulators, and you can read those records yourself

United Airlines operates thousands of flights per year and, like all U.S. carriers, reports safety data to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA maintains public records of incidents, accidents, and safety violations for every airline. You can find United's specific safety history through the FAA's Aviation Safety Reporting System and through the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates accidents. Neither agency has found United's safety record to be worse than other major carriers, though United, like all airlines, has had incidents over its operating history.

Understanding what these records actually measure — and what they don't — helps you read safety data without misinterpreting it. A single incident report does not mean an airline is unsafe. The FAA and NTSB distinguish between accidents (which cause injury or death), incidents (which could have but didn't), and violations (which break a rule but may not create when ready danger). All of these are tracked separately, and context matters when you're reading them.

Key Takeaways

  • The FAA and NTSB publish United Airlines' safety records publicly, and you can search them by airline name and date range.
  • Safety data includes accidents, incidents, and violations — three different categories that measure different things and should not be lumped together.
  • A single incident or violation does not indicate an airline is unsafe; regulators look at patterns over time and across thousands of flights.
  • United's safety record is comparable to other major U.S. carriers, and all commercial airlines operate under the same FAA safety standards.

Where to find United Airlines' official safety records

The FAA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) is a database where pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and air traffic controllers report safety concerns. You can search it at asrs.arc.nasa.gov. The database is searchable by airline, date, and type of incident. Reports are often filed voluntarily and may describe near-misses or procedural issues that did not result in injury.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) maintains a separate database of accidents and serious incidents at ntsb.gov. The NTSB investigates accidents involving commercial aircraft and publishes detailed reports on what happened and why. These reports are the most thorough source of information about any serious event involving an airline.

The FAA also publishes enforcement actions — fines or citations issued to airlines for safety violations — through its public records. These are available through the FAA's website and through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests if you want detailed records of a specific violation or time period.

What "safety record" actually means when you're reading the data

Safety records contain three types of entries, and they measure very different things. An accident is an event that results in death, serious injury, or substantial damage to the aircraft. A serious incident is an event that could have caused an accident but did not — for example, a loss of engine power that was recovered before landing. An incident or violation is a procedural breach or equipment issue that did not create when ready danger but broke a rule or standard.

When you see a number like "United had 47 incidents in 2022," you need to know what kind of incidents those were. A report that a flight attendant did not follow a specific cabin-safety procedure is filed the same way as a report of a near-collision with another aircraft. Both are in the database. Neither means the airline is unsafe, but they are not equivalent either.

Regulators evaluate safety by looking at patterns, not individual events. An airline with one incident per 50,000 flights is operating differently from an airline with one incident per 5,000 flights. The FAA monitors these ratios and takes action if an airline's rate of violations or serious incidents rises above normal.

How the FAA oversees United Airlines and all carriers

The FAA certifies every commercial airline and conducts regular inspections of maintenance facilities, pilot training, and flight operations. United Airlines must meet the same safety standards as every other U.S. carrier — standards that cover everything from how often engines are overhauled to how pilots are trained to handle emergencies.

The FAA assigns safety inspectors to major airlines and conducts both routine and surprise audits. If an airline is found to be out of compliance with a safety rule, the FAA can issue a citation, require corrective action, or in severe cases, suspend or revoke the airline's operating certificate. This has never happened to United, though the airline has received citations for specific violations over the years, as have all major carriers.

When an accident or serious incident occurs, the NTSB takes over the investigation. The NTSB is independent from the FAA and from the airline. Its job is to determine what happened and why, and to recommend changes that prevent similar events in the future. NTSB reports are public and are often the most detailed source of information about what went wrong in any serious event.

Comparing safety records across airlines

The safest way to compare airlines is to look at accident rates over a long period — 10 years or more — rather than incidents or violations in a single year. By this measure, major U.S. carriers including United, American, Delta, and Southwest have similar safety records. Commercial aviation in the United States is extremely safe; fatal accidents involving major carriers are rare, and when they do occur, they are investigated thoroughly.

Incident and violation counts are harder to compare fairly because they depend partly on how aggressively an airline reports problems and how aggressively regulators inspect. An airline with a strong safety culture may actually report more incidents than a carrier that underreports, because the culture encourages pilots and mechanics to flag concerns. This is why the FAA and NTSB focus on serious incidents and accidents rather than the total count of all reported events.

If you want to research an airline's safety record, start with the NTSB accident database to see if there have been any fatal or serious accidents. Then look at the FAA's enforcement records to see if there have been patterns of violations. A single violation or incident does not tell you much; a pattern over years tells you more.

What happened in major United Airlines incidents

United, like all airlines, has had incidents that were widely reported in the news. In 2015, United Flight 1050 experienced a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff from Newark; the pilots safely returned to the airport. In 2009, United Flight 232 experienced a complete hydraulic failure over Iowa; the pilots used engine thrust to control the aircraft and landed it safely, though the landing was hard and there were fatalities. That 2009 incident was investigated thoroughly by the NTSB, and the report is available on the NTSB website.

These events were serious, but they also show how safety systems work: pilots were trained to handle the emergency, the aircraft was designed with redundancy, and the incidents were investigated to prevent similar events. The fact that these incidents occurred does not mean United is unsafe; it means that when serious events do occur, the airline and regulators respond.

How to read safety data without misinterpreting it

When you see a headline about an airline safety incident, ask yourself: Was this an accident (injury or death), a serious incident (could have been an accident), or a violation (broke a rule)? Did it happen once, or is there a pattern? How long ago did it happen, and what changed afterward? A single incident from five years ago that was investigated and resolved tells you less than a pattern of violations in the past year.

Also consider the source. News outlets sometimes report incidents in ways that sound more alarming than the data supports. A database entry about a "loss of cabin pressure" might sound terrifying, but cabin pressure loss is a known emergency that pilots train for, and modern aircraft are designed to handle it. Reading the actual incident report or NTSB investigation gives you much more context than a headline.

If you are concerned about a specific incident or want to know more about an airline's safety record, the FAA and NTSB databases are the most reliable sources. Both are free and public. You do not need to rely on news reports or third-party websites that may misinterpret the data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is United Airlines safe to fly?

United operates under the same FAA safety standards as all U.S. carriers, and its safety record is comparable to other major airlines. Commercial aviation in the United States is extremely safe; fatal accidents are rare. If you have concerns about a specific incident, you can research it through the NTSB database.

Where can I find information about a specific United Airlines incident?

Search the NTSB database at ntsb.gov for accidents and serious incidents, or the FAA's Aviation Safety Reporting System at asrs.arc.nasa.gov for reported incidents and violations. Both databases are searchable by airline and date. The NTSB publishes detailed investigation reports for accidents and serious incidents.

What does it mean if United has more incidents reported than another airline?

A higher incident count does not necessarily mean an airline is less safe. It may mean the airline reports more aggressively, or that regulators inspect it more closely. Compare serious incidents and accidents over a 10-year period rather than total incident counts in a single year for a more meaningful comparison.

How often does the FAA inspect United Airlines?

The FAA assigns safety inspectors to major airlines and conducts routine and surprise audits. The exact frequency varies, but major carriers are inspected regularly. If the FAA finds violations, it requires corrective action. You can request detailed inspection records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the FAA.

What happens if United Airlines violates a safety rule?

The FAA can issue a citation, require corrective action, or in severe cases, suspend operations. Most violations are resolved through corrective action plans. The FAA publishes enforcement actions publicly, so you can see what violations have been cited and how they were resolved.