I own and fly a plane. It's not anywhere near the safety level of Professional, US based airlines. Quite simply, we as a nation got that part right. The equipment, the training, the personnel.All of these plane crashes lately and the deep knowledge required (as exemplified in this forum) to operate one, are making me think twice about getting a license. It seems that, unless you are flying in an airliner from a large US company, anything else, including flying private, is pretty risky.
Life is very different in both large and small GA planes. Where the #1 cause of crashes involves some form of poor decision making on the part of the pilot. The good news is that GA pilots can, if they choose, make great choices. Don't go fly when..... (you fill in the blank here)
Mechanical issues are a 5% factor. The rest is pilot.
Today, I had to wait out some serious weather. Yet I made a few new friends during the delay, and waited long enough to have a great flight home. Risk level, low. Plenty of fuel, good weather, alternate airports galore, healthy airplane, gobs of altitude.