The real cause of most airline crashes
View PDF | Print View
by: RussellEaton
Total views: 21
Word Count: 543
Airline incidents are now so common that they hardly make headline news, and many 'minor' incidents involving just one or two fatalities and injuries go unreported in the press. Unless you personally experience or witness an airline accident, you can easily go through life under the illusion that plane crashes hardly ever happen.
One surprising fact is that ninety four percent of plane accidents happen on take off and landing. This accounts for about 88 percent of fatalities (figures for injuries are usually not recorded). The other four percent of plane accidents happen while the plane is cruising, which accounts for about 12 percent of fatalities. Source: the 'Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, Boeing'.
Another more astonishing fact is that pilot and cockpit crew account for over sixty percent of all airline accidents. Remember that we are talking about regular commercial airlines, without including private planes, military aircraft, etc. Source: information from the website Air Crash Info.
Air crash statistics first started to be collected in the 1930's. Since then the rate of airline accidents and fatalities has been surprisingly steady. That is, the percentage of accidents and deaths is on average about the same, year on year. So in spite of great aviation advances, the rate of accidents and fatalities per hundred flights continues unabated.
You might well ask: what are the chances of an airline passenger being involved in a plane crash? Figures compiled by the 'OAG Back Aviation Solutions & Plane Crash Info accident database, 1988 - 2007' show the following:
The chances of being on an airline flight which results in at least one fatality are about 1 in 3.3 million. This assumes that on average you travel on a mix of different airlines (not just the airlines with the safest records). Another factor is that many of these plane accidents (about 1 in 4) produces a mix of people who die and people who survive, albeit injured. Such injuries are often life-long (and life destroying).
A comparison between car travel and air travel is difficult because accident rates vary wildly between countries. In the USA, for instance, there are roughly 6 million car accidents a year which results in about 40,000 fatalities a year.
It has been estimated that when you compare numbers of journeys (rather than mileage) you are 12 times more likely to be involved in a fatal plane incident compared to a fatal car incident. In other words, air travel is much less safer than car travel (source: 'Air Travel Safety Secrets').
You might well ask: is there anything one can do to avoid or minimize the risk of injury and death when you fly? Fortunately, the answer is a firm yes. There are some simple things that an airline passenger can do to greatly increase the chances of surviving an airline calamity without injury. Please see below for more information.
About the Author
For more information go now to Plane Crash Odds. See also Plane Crash Statistics. A free comprehensive ebook can be downloaded that shows airline passengers how to travel safely.
HTML Code For Copy & Paste
The following code can be copied and pasted into your web page to ensure all links are properly maintained.
Rating: Not yet rated