I used to travel extensively; often accumulating ½ million miles a year as I commuted to California, visited clients, attended scientific/medical conferences, etc. around the world. And, there were plenty of accidents involving airlines. So much so, that I had more than my share of opportunities to experience airline crashes.
By 1996, it became clear to the governing authorities, that, while statistics had improved, there still was the chance of a major wreck every 2 million departures. 350 folks died in airline crashes that very year.
So, new systems were developed (via a committee headed by Vice President Al Gore)- from self-reporting (with no punishment for said divulgences), improved jet engine reliability, electrical subsystems, etc. It even included better pilot training and airplane simulators. The goal was to make airline safety a paramount consideration for the aviation industry.
The airlines went along because their own numbers demonstrated that there would be an airline fatality a week by 2015- and the cost to their bottom line would be at least a billion dollars.
Which explains why the past dozen years have yielded a wonderful statistic- 8 billion passengers on domestic airlines carried with nary a fatal crash. That works out to zero incidents. Or just one fatality in 12 million departures. (That fatality occurred in 2018 when a fan blade ruptured on a Southwest Airlines flight; the blade punctured the fuselage, killing a nearby passenger. The plane did land safely, though.)
Let us not forget we are talking domestic flights. Which means we must also were those two non-domestic Boeing 737Max crashes. Where the automated systems were correcting for a non-existent problem and the foreign pilots lacked the knowledge to override the automation- so both planes crashed.
Currently, the FAA shepherds 10 separate, voluntary data-sharing (voluntary reporting) programs which cover items as diverse as airport workers to FAA engineers, from air traffic control equipment to pilot training.
But, the aviation industry may also be getting lax, as a result of these statistics. After all, many pilots totally rely on the autopilot system, only flying their aircraft for a few minutes each flight. That means hand-eye coordination is slowed- and the brain relies way to heavily on the automated systems. (Think of the 737Max issues.)
We need to keep the vigilance up. Because it’s clear that the aviation industry is about to see a return to flying in the coming months.
What we don’t need is a slew of airline incidents.
OMG so true. I wonder if airlines will require Vaccine Passports?
They want them- as long as they don’t have to pay for the administration of the program.
I usually come across an article or two like this just before my wife and I will each be flying but on different planes to different destinations. Having worked in the airline industry for 25 years I have seen my share of D checks and feel safe but understand that things can go wrong. I do believe increased training is always a plus and even more so with all the new planes on the market and smaller airlines buying up the older or larger planes some of the bigger carriers are getting rid of.
Chef William recently posted..Great Reasons To Enjoy Your Daily Coffee
Great synopsis. Thanks, Chef William for adding to the conversation.
My first airplane trip was back in 1989 when we flew to St. Croix. We left JFK and within minutes after flying over the over the pilot announces there is a problem and be needs to dump the fuel and head back. As we start to land I see the runway loaded with foam and for trucks. I never heard what happened but sure was not want I wantedd on my first flight.
Martha recently posted..A to Z Unicorns
I can agree with that observation, Martha. Yet, you still went to St. Croix- right?