Fmr. NTSB official: Recent plane crashes are a coincidence

(CNN) – For the third time in just one week, a passenger plane has crashed.

But a former National Transportation Safety Board official says it is still safe to fly, and this is all just a horrible coincidence.

"It's coincidence. I don't think it's a pattern, I mean the two today that are clearly weather related, I mean that can happen in anytime," says former NTSB vice chairman Bob Francis, referring to the Air Algerie flight believe to have crashed in Mali, and a TransAsia Airways flight that crashed in Taiwan.

For Americans wary of getting on an airplane, Francis said flying domestically is a safe bet.

"Flying with U.S. carriers, flying in this country is as safe as you can get," he said.

For more of our interview with former NTSB vice chairman Bob Francis, check out the video above.