If you board a plane, the chances of you being in an air accident is 1 in 1,000,000. Air travel safety has improved every year. As more people are now flying, the total number of deaths caused by planes has actually decreased. Nearly all plane crashes are the result of more than one cause. Approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing.
Safety has much improved over the years, as a number of safety devices are now required to be fitted to a commercial plane before it is allowed to fly. The number of accident fatalities peaked around 1980s.
The two biggest manufactures, Boeing and Airbus have put a lot of work into improving their safety in attempt to have the best safety record of all manufactures.
On a per mile basis, the safest way to travel is by air, the UK having the best record. However, insurance companies base transport safety by the numbers of fatalities per person transported; which shows air travel as not the safest way to travel.