Flying is getting scary. But is it still safe?
The reports of harrowing and sometimes tragic incidents aboard airplanes accelerated this year, leading many to wonder if it’s still safe to fly. A door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight leaving a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max fuselage. Passengers’ phones and clothing were ripped from their bodies and sent hurtling out into the night as oxygen masks dropped and the plane made its way to the ground, fortunately without any serious injuries. Another Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing. A passenger plane collided with a military plane at a Tokyo airport, killing five members of the Japanese Coast Guard who were responding to an earthquake. And more minor incidents happened, like when a 200-pound wheel fell off a plane on takeoff, crushing parked vehicles on the ground. Another plane’s engine caught fire. A jet arrived at an airport only to have a missing panel discovered. These incidents all gained attention worthy of a Kardashian on social media. But answering the question of whether it is still safe to fly is not so straightforward. The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than the car ride most people take every day without thinking twice. “When you arrive at the airport, and step aboard the pressurized tube, that’s the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a crash investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “You were more at risk driving to the airport.” But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-03-25/general/flying-is-getting-scary-but-is-it-still-safe
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Flying is getting scary. But is it still safe?
The reports of harrowing and sometimes tragic incidents aboard airplanes accelerated this year, leading many to wonder if it’s still safe to fly. A door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight leaving a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max fuselage. Passengers’ phones and clothing were ripped from their bodies and sent hurtling out into the night as oxygen masks dropped and the plane made its way to the ground, fortunately without any serious injuries. Another Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing. A passenger plane collided with a military plane at a Tokyo airport, killing five members of the Japanese Coast Guard who were responding to an earthquake. And more minor incidents happened, like when a 200-pound wheel fell off a plane on takeoff, crushing parked vehicles on the ground. Another plane’s engine caught fire. A jet arrived at an airport only to have a missing panel discovered. These incidents all gained attention worthy of a Kardashian on social media. But answering the question of whether it is still safe to fly is not so straightforward. The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than the car ride most people take every day without thinking twice. “When you arrive at the airport, and step aboard the pressurized tube, that’s the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a crash investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “You were more at risk driving to the airport.” But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.<br/>
