Airline Travel Safety

By: Nick Kakolowski
It has been well documented that traveling on an airplane is statistically safer than traveling by car, and in most studies, it is found to be much safer. What is it about air travel that makes it so safe? When you are in an airplane, the major threats against your flight are weather, mechanical failure and human error. That list is not very long. Furthermore, over the years of aviation major technological improvements have come into play making flying a much safer option for traveling large distances. There are high standards of testing and maintenance with all new technology before it is used on a commercial flight. This makes flying one of the safest ways for you to reach your destination.

Weather can be the most dangerous force acting against your safety on a flight. The same problems of not having traction on snow, rain and ice that occur when driving can occur for airplanes during take-off and landing. Ice can also be a problem for the plane once it is in the air. If the wings freeze over, the plane can have difficulty generating adequate amounts of lift, and could potentially crash. Thankfully, these are all problems that modern technology has solved. Airports and planes are outfitted with some of the best meteorological devices possible. Not only can bad weather conditions be solved before take-off and landing, they can also be dealt with in the air. If the weather is unsafe for take-off, the flight will be delayed. If it is unsafe to land, planes carry extra gas reserved entirely for emergencies. Your flight can either stay in the air until conditions are safe, or be re-routed to another airport where the weather is not as threatening. Among those fancy instruments and gauges in the cockpit, there are monitors that give pilots weather related information. With those tools, and communication with sources on the ground, pilots can avoid most threatening patches of weather. The possibility of wings freezing is, for the most part, outdated. Contemporary planes are designed with systems to combat cold air and precipitation during the flight. One common method of combating cold air is by venting out warmer air to the wings. Airplanes are also designed to withstand direct lightning strikes with minimal damage, and positive lightning (A more powerful form of lightning that has caused difficulties in the past) is now being dealt with through advances in design.

Either by employing advanced technology or a firm "safety-first" mentality, air travel has incorporated defense measures to safeguard its passengers against hazardous weather. However, mechanical failure is another area which needs to be closely monitored. Thankfully, it is a threat that comes into play with extreme rarity. Before take-off every plane is put through a rigorous inspection to ensure proper functionality. Every flight system, every engine and every navigational tool is tested and tried in countless scenarios before it even is allowed to be used for a commercial flight. Every part of the plane is checked thoroughly to ensure mechanical stability. This thorough system has made mechanical failure something that very rarely occurs. That being said, "very rare" is not enough to make the airline industry happy. Therefore planes are also filled with back-up systems that are capable of taking over for anything that may fail, at least for long enough that the plane can land safely