VIDEO: These Are the Scariest Plane Crashes. No One Was Expecting the Tragedy to Happen!

A lot of people are afraid of flying. This is not because it might be really dangerous because, in fact, it is safer than all the other means of transportation, but because while in all the others you can drive or at least jump out of them if things get bad, when you are in a plane you have no control whatsoever.

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Your faith is in the hands of the pilot and God and there is just nothing you can do. The good part is that bad things rarely happen and issues have been resolved over the years, making planes safer and safer.

According to popularmechanics.com, flying in a jetliner is extraordinarily safe: There has been only one fatal crash in the United States in the past five years, an astounding record considering that more than 30,000 flights take off every day.

How did flying get so reliable? In part, because of accidents that triggered crucial safety improvements. Here are eight crashes and two emergency landings whose influence is felt–for the good–each time you step on a plane.

The Grand Canyon, TWA Flight 2 and United Airlines Flight 718 – The accident spurred a $250 million upgrade of the air traffic control (ATC) system–serious money in those days. (It worked: There hasn’t been a collision between two airliners in the United States in 47 years.) The crash also triggered the creation in 1958 of the Federal Aviation Agency (now Administration) to oversee air safety PORTLAND | United Airlines Flight 173

United Flight 173, a DC-8 approaching Portland, Ore., with 181 passengers, circled near the airport for an hour as the crew tried in vain to sort out a landing gear problem. Although gently warned of the rapidly diminishing fuel supply by the flight engineer on board, the captain–later described by one investigator as “an arrogant S.O.B.”–waited too long to begin his final approach. The DC-8 ran out of fuel and crashed in a suburb, killing 10.

In response, United revamped its cockpit training procedures around the then-new concept of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM). Abandoning the traditional “the captain is god” airline hierarchy, CRM emphasized teamwork and communication among the crew, and has since become the industry standard. “It’s really paid off,” says United captain Al Haynes, who in 1989 remarkably managed to crash-land a crippled DC-10 at Sioux City, Iowa, by varying engine thrust. “Without [CRM training], it’s a cinch we wouldn’t have made it.”

Cincinnati, Air Canada Flight 797 – The first signs of trouble on Air Canada 797, a DC-9 flying at 33,000 ft. en route from Dallas to Toronto, were the wisps of smoke wafting out of the rear lavatory. Soon, thick black smoke started to fill the cabin, and the plane began an emergency descent. Barely able to see the instrument panel because of the smoke, the pilot landed the plane at Cincinnati. But shortly after the doors and emergency exits were opened, the cabin erupted in a flash fire before everyone could get out. Of the 46 people aboard, 23 died.

The FAA subsequently mandated that aircraft lavatories be equipped with smoke detectors and automatic fire extinguishers. Within five years, all jetliners were retrofitted with fire-blocking layers on seat cushions and floor lighting to lead passengers to exits in dense smoke. Planes built after 1988 have more flame-resistant interior materials.