Maybe not the most reassuring of factoids, but one that offers a reminder of just how safe (relatively speaking) air travel really is.

What’s so deadly about airplane exhaust?

Much like the exhaust that pours out of your car, plane fuel emits pollutants (like sulfur dioxide, for example). The particles are tiny, and that’s what makes them so deadly: They can easily enter the human bloodstream and cause long-term health damage.

Researchers at MIT, whose work is reported by National Geographic, used a computer model to track plane emissions through the atmosphere. They noted where the emissions were likely to fall and then linked them to human deaths.

They tabulated that around 10,000 deaths per year can be blamed on airplane pollution. Compare that to 1,000 annual deaths caused by crashes.

And most of the deaths are caused by emissions at cruising altitudes over 3,000 — but not takeoff and landing, whose emissions are monitored and controlled …

Then I considered that the place I thought to be the most dangerious … could possibly be one of the safest place to be ….

The most common deadly conditions linked to pollution are cardiovascular disease and respiratory ailments like lung cancer.

Air pollution kills an estimated 1 million people each year, according to a 2004 study by the World Health Organization. That makes air travel a relatively small segment of a much, much larger health problem.

But keep in mind that those illnesses are caused by other modes of transit, including the ubiquitous personal automobile.

Oh, and ships: Those emissions kill an estimated 60,000 people a year. Ahoy!