Is an older plane less safe?

Age alone tells you very little. US airlines maintain their aircraft under FAA rules, and older airplanes face extra scrutiny: once an airliner has been in service for about 15 years, the airline must have the FAA complete an aging-airplane inspection and records review, repeated at intervals of no more than 7 years. The airline has to show that age-sensitive parts and components have been maintained adequately and on time.¹ Curious how old your plane is? Try our tail number lookup.