Despite four deaths in a private jet crash at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad on Tuesday morning, air travel remains a much safer mode of transportation than driving an automobile, according to a Chicago researcher.

Ali Khounsary at the Agronne National Laboratory looked at annual automobile deaths and airplane crash fatalities two years ago and concluded drivers and their passengers have a much higher chance of losing their lives compared to air travelers.

His research showed that about 40,000 people die in automobile crashes in the United States each year compared with about 200 deaths recorded in aircraft accidents.

"The bottom line is air travel is immensely safer," Khounsary said in a telephone interview.

According to his number crunching, about one of every 6,800 drivers in the U.S. dies in an auto accident while the annual rate of deaths for airline passengers is one in 1.16 million.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says the number of general aviation accidents such as Tuesday's declined 8 percent in 2004 compared to 2003. In 2004, there were 1,732 accidents nationwide compared with 1,595 in 2003.

The primary reason for catastrophic injury and high fatality rates in airplanes is the speed of the aircraft at the time of an accident.

Khounsary examined National Transportation Safety Board data to reach his conclusions.

"In the end, I figure it is about 100 times safer to fly than to drive," Khounsary said. "The reason people often fear flying is because once they get on a plane someone else's hand is in control.

"While people get very nervous about that, there is no question that traveling by air is by far the safest mode of transportation," he said.