It is no secret that the US's recent aviation safety records are naked. Some recent fatal incidents leave many feeling uneasy about their next trip. This has led many to seek a lot of transparency about what a safe air travel might look like.
Recent safety accidents have made potential travelers nervous
The US aviation safety statistics are comparable to other countries with broad aviation standards. According to Arnold Burnett of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Statistics Institute, a report from Conde Naste Traveller claimed that the risk of death per passenger was:
“The risk of death per passenger boarding is about one in 100 million people. If you have a small child at a US airport, he or she is five times more likely to grow to become the president of the US to die on future flights.”
Anyway, given the recent events, it's easy to stay nervous. Many human emotions can lead to a lack of confidence and tension, but this is inevitable. If you are suffering from the fear of flying, there are several steps you can take to overcome your fear.
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The pilots and cabin crew have been trained for years to learn what they are doing
Pilots, flight attendants, ground crews, and first responders are trained to understand and act on what to do in an emergency. Flight attendants are first and foremost to keep passengers safe. For pilots, their training can take years, and when cabin crews are hired by the airline, they will go through weeks of extensive research before they are given wings.
Photo: British Airways
Training for the cabin crew is usually done at the airline's unique training facility. The training facility practices events such as handling unruly passengers, opening and closing exits, and implementing water evacuation. They also spend time in the swimming pool and assess how long they can step on the water there. Reconfiguration continues to be carried out to ensure that most crew members maintain safety benchmarks.
The pilot has several safety requirements to ensure that it is suitable for the job. Every six months, most airlines require pilots to spend time on flight simulators and experience many scenarios about how they respond in challenging situations. These simulations include engine failure, fire, bird strikes, equipment failures, and more. Pilots may be evaluated psychologically to ensure they respond quickly and remain calm even in the most challenging situations.
Learn from previous mistakes and benchmark good practice guidelines
After the immediate air raid, a thorough aviation safety investigation will be conducted as the main focus is on personal well-being. These are done by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and its trained researchers. These individuals gather extensive evidence and their purpose is to understand what happened and why. From here, corrective actions are established and changes are implemented to prevent the same mistakes and errors from occurring again.
Investigators should strive and slow. These considerations include talking to survivors, looking at physical evidence, and even damage to the condition of the aircraft and runway. Finally, having a Cockpit Voice Recorder and a Flight Data Recorder will allow you to connect puzzles.
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Use new technology to improve aircraft safety
Pilots have many cutting-edge tools that can help improve the safety of the ship. These include upgrading flight deck instruments, new aircraft appearances, and even airports where you can upgrade the runway surface. On its own, the Federal Aviation Administration spent millions of dollars over a decade experimenting with new air traffic control systems.
The new ATC system “Next Generation” allows pilots to navigate different waypoints through satellites. This allows crews to reduce flight times, improve fuel efficiency and mitigate airborne collisions. Pilots will still need to navigate alongside next-generation and other ground systems, but the latter will eventually be phased out.
Many in the aviation industry view funding restrictions as a challenge. Aviation safety experts are continuing to seek increased government funding to ensure modern safety management systems. The Biden administration is trying to improve this, with $332 million allocated to upgrade airport infrastructure. Fortunately, for now, these grants remain the same.
Tips for passengers to take to improve personal safety
Passengers are not people flying on the plane, but there are a few steps you can take to ensure safety. These include:
Think about what you're wearing for your flight. Are these practical in evacuation? Flat shoes that avoid synthetic materials may have low visibility, observing locations around emergency exits. Make sure you check if the nearest exit is in front of you or in front of you. Be aware of safety briefings as explanations vary between airlines where airlines understand important information such as how to operate a life-saving vest and reading oxygen masks.
It's understandable that after a string of accidents and near misses in the US over the last few months, we'll be worried about our next flight. However, it is statistically safer to travel with air than to drive.
Check aircraft safety through pilot lens
There are far fewer serious fatal aviation accidents than before. Between the 1960s and 2000s, airplane collisions became much more common than desirable. However, advances in aviation technology have reduced the likelihood of fatal accidents, which has delayed this perspective somewhat.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
There are strict rules to ensure that pilots can focus completely on the work they need. Accidents occur, but many factors can play a role in whether something has happened. Part of this is understanding the differences between commercial, private and general aviation when looking at incident data.
For pilots, there are many perspectives from previous events, but it is important to note that they know how far the industry has come from its previous location. There have been a few recent incidents, but this does not indicate that the system is failing. Aviation safety builds on the structures there to lock in minor errors and can quickly become a major issue.
While it is easy for the public to consider pilots as the only line of defense when it comes to air force crash investigations, they are the last line of defense. This was clearly reported by CNN by Phil Smith, recalling some safety incidents and a decline in customer confidence.
“Does that mean we need to be vigilant? Of course. Does that mean that the system is unsafe? No. There's a difference between safety and unsafe.”
“The pilot feels that in a way we have to pick up everyone's weaknesses, but that's how we've always felt. I really don't feel it (more so now).”
Believe it or not, flights are generally safe
Although customers lack confidence, air travel is generally relatively safe. According to reader digests, between 2018 and 2022, the fatal risk was between 13.7 million and 2018 and 2022.
Photo: Svitlana Hulko | Shutterstock
It's easy to listen to podcasts and watch videos while flight attendants complete their safety briefings. Still, there is evidence on Discovery TV that listening to safety briefings can minimize the risk of injury when braces are needed for impact. Analysis was completed with a group of dummies that can withstand the impact by placing the head between the legs.
A common misconception is that turbulence destroys planes. It can be unsettling for some people, but it can be inconvenient for aircraft pilots. The pilots were well trained to manage these challenging situations, and you might think that the plane was falling rapidly into the sky, but that was probably only a few feet. What you can do during these instances is to return to your seat as soon as possible and secure your seat belt. By taking this simple step, you protect yourself from bouncing around the plane and reducing the chances of injury.
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Understand the aircraft systems there to support in emergencies
Most common commercial aircraft have two to four engines, but in the end you can manage it with one. If the engine needs to shut down or fails, the pilot is trained to detour to the nearest airport for mechanical assistance. Another example of this is when a hydraulic landing system fails. There is a manual process that the pilot can complete to expand the landing system in this type of emergency.
Cadet pilots spend a lot of time and money training to become pilots for official commercial airlines. Before an airline's transport pilot license is granted, you must complete a minimum of 1,500 hours, meaning several years of practice before transporting passengers from A to B on the next flight.