Not being an AK guy, I was surprised to see that it is possible to have a real accidental discharge with an AK-47 (or any number of its variants). The root cause is the possible overtravel of the “full-auto” AK safety/selector when the cover is off, worn, or somehow folded in. MattV2099 breaks it down on his channel. 

Does this make the weapon inherently unsafe? Hardly. Its just a quirk of an older system and weapons being forced into semi-auto function to comply with firearms laws. Bottom line: make sure you have the right safety/selector or don’t over-rotate it.

And, as always, follow the safety rules.