Airline Safety has always been an issue of great importance as of the present, especially on the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack on U.S soil. Safety and security measures after that incident have been intensified left and right.
However, even if the said events are to be considered, statistics still show that the safest way to travel anywhere is still by plane.According to airlinesafety.com the most frequently asked question in their website would be the inquiry as to whether if flying on an airplane would be safe. This only proves that there are a lot of anxious people out there who are unaware of the minute probability of an airline accident happening with them as passengers.
Mr. Andrew Barnett an MIT professor and a statistical expert on aviation safety conducted a study which later found out that the odds that an accident of this nature would be experienced by an individual would be once in every nineteen thousand years (1:19000), given that the said individual would be flying every day of the said time frame. It was also mentioned that American commercial flights are 22 times safer than car travel.An article entitled “Why We Worry About the Things We Shouldn't”, mentions that a person who rides bikes, loves pet dogs, or a person who loves to take a bath are more prone to suffer mortal injuries and are apparently exposed to a greater risk of being killed in comparison to traveling on a commercial aircraft.Given the said information, travel by plane is the undoubtedly the safest means of Traveling.
However, the data gathered is yet to provide a feeling of security and safety on a lot of “uneasy” passengers. In fact, anxiety in traveling via plane increased a lot these past few years. It may be that the said anxiety being experienced by people when they take the plane stems from the fact that they are 33,000 feet above the ground.The fear that something might happen during the said flight is predominant because passengers thing that if worst comes to worst they are “virtually helpless” at the onset of an imminent threat of an airplane crash, in comparison to an imminent accident taking place on a shipping line or on an automobile, the odds that one might actually survive an airplane crash is almost next to zero.However if one is to take a closer look on statistics involving transportation safety, it would easily be deduced that travel by plane is by far still the safest means of travel.The said fear or anxiety in traveling by plane is partly attributed to the highly sensationalized news splattered on newspaper front-liners whenever a plane crash occurs.
The fact that plane crashes occur very occasionally makes the occurrence of the said incident a sure front page story. This negative connotation became ingrained on the mindset of a lot of people making them unreasonably anxious to travel via plane.I. Safety TipsThere are a lot of things which could be done by the Airline management, Airport security, the Government and the even the passenger themselves to significantly minimize the possibility of an Airplane accident from happening.
For one thing the Airline management should make it a point to see to it that the Airplane should periodically undergo safety checks and measures to ensure that it is still fit for commercial usage. Airplane spare-parts are ergonomically studied and created with specified indications as to when the said parts are to be replaced. The spare-parts are usually replaced when the plane has traveled a specific number of miles.The management should see to it that the airplane’s spare parts should be checked routinely for the signs of the usual wear and tear, and should be promptly replaced when the said parts are already approaching the stipulated mileage supposed to be traveled prior to replacement or when the said part appears to be worn-out.
This practice is a must, an should not be compromised because of cost-cutting measures because the safety of all the passengers including the pilot and flight attendants are at stake as well as the reputation of the airlines itself.Another necessary precaution which should be carried out would be the selection of the Aircraft maintenance technicians servicing the planes.A highly skilled technician would definitely have an impact in somehow diminishing the possibility of an airplane crash because they know the ins and outs of aircraft troubleshooting making them less prone to commit trouble shooting errors, in contrast to an inexperienced technician who has a greater chance to commit an error concerning aircraft maintenance and trouble shooting.The Airline management should strictly adhere to Maintenance Standard Operating procedures to diminish the possibility of an airline accident from taking place. This undertaking is easier said than done, because of the economical constraints being experienced worldwide, which gave rise to significant cost cutting measures imposed by beleaguered airline companies, that gave rise to the hiring of less-experienced technicians.
On the part of the Airport security and the Government, they could impose some standards which the commercial airline and the passengers should follow. These measures should include some standard practices concerning security and safety checks.Like for example the implementation of some safety rules concerning things which could be brought inside the plane, lists of things not allowed inside a plane, guidelines as to how passengers should react during an airplane crisis, and guidelines and seminars to be given to airport security as to how they would be able to identify potential high-jackers and/or suspicious looking characters.
