You have a better chance of being killed by a hippo than dying in a plane crash.
Unless, of course, you’re aboard Flight 12! (And I hope you are!)
You can read my post on the first 6 Reasons Air Travel is Incredibly Safe, Part 1, HERE.
Today I have for you 6 MORE reasons why real flying aboard planes other than Flight 12 should not be a scary-kind-of-thrilling.
1. Emphasis on Collaboration
There used to be a sense of hierarchy in the cockpit. The captain was king, and everyone else was supposed to follow his or her orders. It’s not like that today. Everyone works together, from the cabin crew, to meteorologists, to the FAA and people on the ground.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/travel/a-pilots-views-on-flight-safety.html?_r=0
2. Most planes can land in zero visibility.
This is reassuring, right? It’s thanks again to those wonderful advancements in technology, specifically, an electronic gliding scope and advanced landing equipment.
3. Lightning? No problem.
According to Boeing studies, airliners are struck by lightning twice per year on average. There’s a reason you never hear about that — it’s because the planes can handle it.
4. Planes can fly through thunderstorms.
Planes can even fly through hurricanes and remain intact. But, even more reassuring than this, is the fact that even though planes can fly through storms, they don’t. It’s illegal. Planes must stay at least 20 miles away from the core of a storm.
5. Aircraft are subject to intense scrutiny.
In fact, a commercial airliner is monitored and investigated so rigorously that the typical American aircraft will be completely overhauled every 4 or 5 years.
Source: http://www.gogetterjetsetter.com/how-safe-is-flying.php
6. If there’s more than one engine, it’s okay if one fails.
Sometimes an engine failure is virtually silent. Other times, it’s loud enough to be very alarming to passengers. Either way, as long as there’s more than one engine, the plane is most likely fine. Even if the engine incident creates sparks or flames, believe it or not, it’s most likely still NOT a catastrophic problem. A plane with two engines can fly with one engine. A plane with three engines can fly with two. A plane with four engines can fly with three.
Now that you know how safe planes are, what do you think is in store for Flight 12, headed to Rome???
Airlines love to refer to the number of passenger miles traveled as that gives them an excellent safety record. But when you think of it, the number of passengers has no effect on the crash of an airplane so ‘passenger miles’ are irrelevant. When you look at the number of vehicle miles traveled / death and compare that to the number of auto related deaths / mile and you get a somewhat different picture of the safety of flying.