Is the terror of the skies a bit over-exaggerated?
There have been so many mid-air accidents recently that flying can feel like playing Russian roulette at 30,000 feet. Recent notorious examples include the Alaska Airlines door accident in March and a Southwest Airlines near-ditch last week.
But experts are divided on whether it's still safe to fly in friendly skies.
A large number of passengers have recently been cancelling flights, but some say this is simply anti-flying hysteria.
A fuselage plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing after a gap appeared in the fuselage. Via Reuters
“Airplanes are the safest mode of transportation ever designed by man,” John Cox, a former airline pilot who runs a safety consulting firm, told The New York Times.
Many people argue that riding in a car is far more dangerous than riding in a commercial jet.
“Getting to the airport and getting into the pressurized tube was the safest part of the trip,” Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation safety professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and accident investigator, told CNN. “The drive to the airport was more dangerous.”
In fact, only five people have died on scheduled commercial flights in the United States in the past decade, CNN reports.
Meanwhile, between 2003 and 2022, more than 100 people died per day on American roads.
This aerial photo shows the wreckage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, which crashed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, July 6, 2013. AP
Experts also point out that the majority of mechanical accidents are common and often minor.
“Small parts always burn out or break,” says Amy Pritchett, a pilot and professor of aerospace engineering at Pennsylvania State University. “There are always holes in the taxiway pavement, and that shakes things up.”
Often these issues can be quickly resolved with backup parts, but sometimes it is necessary to divert the plane. Though dramatic, this diversion is generally done out of an abundance of caution, rather than imminent disaster as the public believes.
An engine on a Boeing 737 operated by Southwest Airlines exploded during takeoff from Denver to Houston. @SweeneyABC/X
Earlier this month, an international flight was forced to turn back after crossing the Atlantic due to mechanical issues.
The jet reportedly had engine problems that did not affect that particular flight but could pose a risk to future flights.
Despite the relative safety, experts say people should not be complacent when flying in so-called friendly skies.
“Arriving at the airport and getting into the pressurized tube is the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, an accident investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “The drive to the airport was more dangerous.”Thomas P. Costello/USA Today Network
Experts claim that it was a miracle that no one died in many of the incidents mentioned above.
In the most notorious incident last winter, a faulty bolt caused a door to fly off an Alaska Airlines Boeing plane at 16,000 feet, injuring one person.
CNN reported that if the part had come off at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, it could have destroyed the plane and killed all 177 passengers on board.
“There's a sense of overconfidence,” said Ed Pearson, executive director of the Aviation Safety Foundation and a vocal critic of Boeing. “We're downplaying everything and continuing to talk about the safety of the system, so the highest standards are eroding.”
He continued: “That's not the right mindset. That's the mindset that gets people killed.”
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board has been urging airlines for years to install systems in cockpits that would warn of possible runway collisions, but airlines have made no moves to do so, even though the technology already exists.
“It's technology that prevents accidents like this from happening again,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
