"For some people who are on the fence in terms of their comfort with flying, the incidents we've seen could potentially get some of them to stay home, or opt for driving at least a portion of the distance," said travel analyst Henry Harteveldt of Forrester Research.
I do not know if this recent crash will slump the industry. I think people have grown accustomed to the security to the point that it does not bother them anymore. The last major airline crash in the U.S. occurred right after Sept. 11, 2001 when an American Airlines aircraft went down just after takeoff in New York. Just some facts to think about: A total of 43,443 people died in traffic accidents last year, up 1.4 percent from the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency said the motorcycle death toll rose for the eighth consecutive year. Last year, 4,553 motorcyclists died on the roadways, up 13 percent from the previous year. The agency said 4,881 pedestrians were killed last year, up 4.4 percent.
In schedule flights operating under the U.S. air carriers with over 18,000,000 flight hours and over 10,000,000 departures a fatalty occurred every 0.016 times per 100,000 flight hours and only occurred 0.027 times per 100,000 departures. All the data is from the NTSB's website and is as recent as Dec 2005. Now, which is safer?
People tend to fear flying because they are not in control. The captain of ComAir flight 5191 had been with the company for 6 years and the first officer had been with them since 2002. The crew had experience. Hundreds of hours in training, hundreds of hours behind the stick, however sometimes inattention can kill. Despite that though, the same can be said for driving.
I will be doing my part to help out the industry this weekend. I'm off to Los Angeles with a friend for the Labor Day Holiday.
United Airlines Flt: 6701 Far-Den CRJ-200
United Airlines Flt: 0445 Den-Lax B777-200
United Airlines Flt: 0254 Lax-Den B767-300
United Airlines Flt: 6668 Den-Far CRJ-200
Link to Fort-Worth Star Telegram Article
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