How Safe is Flying?
‘Flying machines
have illustrated the adage of our youth, ‘what goes up must come down.’” This skeptical comment was published in the New York Times of May 25, 1908, just a few years after the famous flight by the Wright brothers. The writer, obviously still doubtful about the future of flight, asserted that the dream of air travel may never be realized. How wrong that prediction has turned out to be. Air travel is now as common as steam ships were back in the days. Within just one century, air travel has been transformed from the flimsy contraptions at the turn of the 19th century to the sleek jumbo computer-equipped jetliners we see today that travel faster than the speed of sound. Aviation has indeed transformed the 20th and the 21st century into another world.
However, some still question the safety of air travel. Let us see how safe aviation is and what precautions are taken to ensure its safety is maintained. For one thing, a plane is safer than a car. About half a million people die on roads each year compared to less than 2,000 from airline accidents. In fact, only travel by bus in the United States is considered safer. What makes planes safer? For one thing, planes do not fly in close proximity. Another reason is due to the fact that airline crews are highly trained and have a more professional approach when it comes to their responsibilities. For example, a captain of a Boeing 747 is expected to have around 30years of flying experience and will usually be in his fifties. Such standards can be found in all members of the crew and this dramatically reduces of anything going wrong. After all, lives are on the line here.
On the flight deck, all the primary instruments needed to fly safely are duplicated, both for the captain and for the copilot. This ensures that in case the captain collapses, the copilot has total control of the plane. Another air travel precaution taken is that both the copilot and the captain can monitor each other’s instruments to ensure that they are giving the same indications. The captain and the copilot are also expected to have different meals so that in the event of food poisoning, only one of them would be affected. To ensure control of movable parts like landing gear, there is usually a doubling or a tripling of hydraulic systems in case there is failure. No doubt air travel is taken seriously and you can rest assured the next time you take a flight.
‘Flying machines
have illustrated the adage of our youth, ‘what goes up must come down.’” This skeptical comment was published in the New York Times of May 25, 1908, just a few years after the famous flight by the Wright brothers. The writer, obviously still doubtful about the future of flight, asserted that the dream of air travel may never be realized. How wrong that prediction has turned out to be. Air travel is now as common as steam ships were back in the days. Within just one century, air travel has been transformed from the flimsy contraptions at the turn of the 19th century to the sleek jumbo computer-equipped jetliners we see today that travel faster than the speed of sound. Aviation has indeed transformed the 20th and the 21st century into another world.However, some still question the safety of air travel. Let us see how safe aviation is and what precautions are taken to ensure its safety is maintained. For one thing, a plane is safer than a car. About half a million people die on roads each year compared to less than 2,000 from airline accidents. In fact, only travel by bus in the United States is considered safer. What makes planes safer? For one thing, planes do not fly in close proximity. Another reason is due to the fact that airline crews are highly trained and have a more professional approach when it comes to their responsibilities. For example, a captain of a Boeing 747 is expected to have around 30years of flying experience and will usually be in his fifties. Such standards can be found in all members of the crew and this dramatically reduces of anything going wrong. After all, lives are on the line here.
On the flight deck, all the primary instruments needed to fly safely are duplicated, both for the captain and for the copilot. This ensures that in case the captain collapses, the copilot has total control of the plane. Another air travel precaution taken is that both the copilot and the captain can monitor each other’s instruments to ensure that they are giving the same indications. The captain and the copilot are also expected to have different meals so that in the event of food poisoning, only one of them would be affected. To ensure control of movable parts like landing gear, there is usually a doubling or a tripling of hydraulic systems in case there is failure. No doubt air travel is taken seriously and you can rest assured the next time you take a flight.
How Safe is Flying?
4/
5
Oleh
admin 2019
