AS9100 CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER MEASURES MAKE FLYING AS SAFE AS EVER (DEMO)
Grim news from the skies have recently emerged. There’s the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines flight 17 which got inadvertently shot down, the TransAsia flight that crashed off Taiwan due to a typhoon, and the Air Algerie flight which seemed to vanish without a trace.
If news like these have instilled in you an aversion (at least temporarily) to air travel, you are not alone. An article in Time.com discusses the psychology behind this fear, saying, first of all, that humans are terrible at assessing risk. We find it hard to understand how a 975,000-lb. plane can fly, so we always have nagging doubts when we’re onboard one; or we feel helpless knowing our safety is at the hands of the stranger piloting the plane, in contrast to the sense of control we get when we’re driving.
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Such thinking is overshadowing aviation’s statistically undisputed reputation for safety. For instance, data from the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority indicate that the fatality rate per billion kilometers of air travel is an ultra-minuscule 0.003, compared to 0.27 by rail, 2.57 by car, and 106.67 by motorcycle.
Not convinced yet? Then get a dose of an “insider’s view.” Seasoned commercial pilot Patrick Smith explicitly claimed that flying is the safest mode of travel there is. Smith claims that the traditional aviation culture of putting one person in command (the pilot is “King” and everyone follows his orders unquestioningly) is over. Today, the entire flight crew is all about coordination.
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, the technology was significantly less than what it is today, leading to a higher number of crashes. Nowadays, aircraft manufacture is governed by extremely stringent quality criteria like the AS9100 standards, which partly regulate the procurement and supply of aviation parts. These standards have enabled the aerospace and defense industries to increase operational efficiency by lowering production costs; leading to reduced rework, fewer rejections, and ultimately only top-quality products.
Furthermore, remember the long-standing tale that birds can completely jam plane engines if they get caught in the fans? That’s absolutely bogus. Modern aviation testing processes involve throwing foreign objects through the jet engines to ensure they maintain full functionality. Additionally, even if the engines were to stop at a cruising height (35,000 feet), a plane is designed to glide for 30 minutes before it lands.
Tech advances that are nothing less than amazing should put our minds at ease about air travel safety; but tight regulations, implemented with the assistance of certified organizations, including a reputable AS9100 registrar like ISA, should seal the deal. Cruising thousands of feet above the clouds may have its risks, but they are far less than many other modes of travel in the planet.
(Source: Fear Of Flying: Don’t Be Fooled By The Scary News—Air Travel Is As Safe As Ever, TIME, July 4, 2014)
Such thinking is overshadowing aviation’s statistically undisputed reputation for safety. For instance, data from the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority indicate that the fatality rate per billion kilometers of air travel is an ultra-minuscule 0.003, compared to 0.27 by rail, 2.57 by car, and 106.67 by motorcycle.
Not convinced yet? Then get a dose of an “insider’s view.” Seasoned commercial pilot Patrick Smith explicitly claimed that flying is the safest mode of travel there is. Smith claims that the traditional aviation culture of putting one person in command (the pilot is “King” and everyone follows his orders unquestioningly) is over. Today, the entire flight crew is all about coordination.
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, the technology was significantly less than what it is today, leading to a higher number of crashes. Nowadays, aircraft manufacture is governed by extremely stringent quality criteria like the AS9100 standards, which partly regulate the procurement and supply of aviation parts. These standards have enabled the aerospace and defense industries to increase operational efficiency by lowering production costs; leading to reduced rework, fewer rejections, and ultimately only top-quality products.
Furthermore, remember the long-standing tale that birds can completely jam plane engines if they get caught in the fans? That’s absolutely bogus. Modern aviation testing processes involve throwing foreign objects through the jet engines to ensure they maintain full functionality. Additionally, even if the engines were to stop at a cruising height (35,000 feet), a plane is designed to glide for 30 minutes before it lands.
Tech advances that are nothing less than amazing should put our minds at ease about air travel safety; but tight regulations, implemented with the assistance of certified organizations, including a reputable AS9100 registrar like ISA, should seal the deal. Cruising thousands of feet above the clouds may have its risks, but they are far less than many other modes of travel in the planet.
(Source: Fear Of Flying: Don’t Be Fooled By The Scary News—Air Travel Is As Safe As Ever, TIME, July 4, 2014)