Explain to him that air travel today -- particular in the United States -- is the safest form of travel in the history of the world. Period. That's not the hyperbole, that's the truth. And there are plenty of reasons for it.

You're of the age where you probably remember hearing about plane crashes every other year or so. That stopped in 2010, when the FAA issued new regulations on minimum qualifications and training for airline pilots in the U.S. See the image below -- not a single fatality in the U.S. since that law (note: other than the woman who was killed when a Southwest engine exploded. However, that's not related to training or experience -- and in fact the pilot SAVED lives that day.)

Your son may see the Air Malaysia accident or ones from other countries and have that increase his anxiety. By and large, those pilots are flying with 200-300 hours of experience -- and most of that on a simulator. A pilot at United or Delta or American likely has 20-30,000 hours of experience. Even a first officer on a puddle jumper MUST have 1500 hours of experience (or commensurate qualifications from school or military). And within those hours are mandated types of training -- in-flight, simulator, etc.

Similar, there are new fatigue and work-time standards (sorry, @B777Fr8Dog !) in place to make sure pilots aren't flying when they're too tired or fatigued to safely do so.

Finally, safety in the United States is not just a government thing. We have the largest nongovernmental air safety organization in the world that leads the way in innovations in safety and security making SURE that we maintain our stellar record of safety.

Ask your son to look at it this way: The pilot at the command of your flight likely has a family to get home to. He or she isn't going to do anything to risk that. And because 98% of U.S. pilots are unionized, they have the ability to pull a Nancy Reagan and "just say no." There's a standard called "Pilot in Command" which means the pilot is in charge of everything on board that airplane -- and it does NOT take off until the pilot is convinced it's safe to do so. Non-unionized pilots can be threatened: "Take off or you're fired and we'll find someone else to fly this plane." That won't happen on your flight. If something is wrong, your pilot is well trained to either find it before taking off or deal with it safely when it manifests.
[Post edited by Nova Hokie 95 at 12/18/2019 11:58PM]