Airline notes

Mr Lifson, you'd be thrilled to hear that what you just wrote about is just the tip of the iceberg. I just saw the headline of another story on Yahoo about a plane that missed its destination because the pilots were sleeping with the plane on autopilot.

Airforce lore speaks of reparing high performance aircraft with a tape, usually refered to as "100 mph" tape. It's called that because supposedly it will hold aircraft parts together up to 100 mph, or up to 100 miles, or maybe its which ever comes first. You'd have to ask a senior-master-tech-chief-sergeant about that.

During my cherry-blast in the 82nd, I was told the reason our jump got scrubbed in the air was because an air-flow deflector, which is like a huge steel door with large perforations, on a C-141 fell off as troopers were exiting. Judging from the size and composition, I would guess those things weigh at least a few hundred pounds. Had it hit any troopers on the way down, it would have killed them instantly, or completely collapsed their parachutes.

In that same jump, as we were all lined up at the door my aircraft had to climb suddenly to avoid a stick of paratroopers who were floating down in front of it. Keep in mind that most of our jumps were at night in tactical mode. This was a relatively easy, "Hollywood" daylight jump.

Right after that, an F-16 at Pope AFB clipped the tail of a C-130 as they both crossed paths on a landing approach. The C-130 landed safely, but the pilot of the F-16 ejected and his F-16 dove into several fully fueled C-141's on the tarmac that were being loaded with paratroopers. That was a pretty bad day.

But nothing beats helicopters. It's easy to get complacent when flying in most big airplanes. The nice comfy seats, the beverage service, bathrooms. But there's an undeniable sense of vulnerability and fragility with a helicopter. With it's normal vibrations combined with sudden shakes and extreme changes in pitch when it banks, there's no denying a certain sense of a "higher power" when you're riding in such an aircraft.

Now, with all of that being said, I have been told you probably put your life in much greater danger everyday when you get into your car (statistically speaking).

Happy flying!

Ah yes, the American Golden Age is receeding at warp speed,thanks to the anti-energy congress.The lighting strikes? Either Bush caused them or glabol werming did.We need more people too,open the borders Hussein.

I'm sorry, Mr Lifson. But if you can't fly, you can drive on the freeway network (the fastest option) or take a bus or a train (though I wouldn't advise a zug).

10,000 miles? Where have you been travelling, if I may ask? On a trip around the world? :)

This is not to say that we ought to fly without concern for safety, but ...

For many years, commercial airliners have been designed to take lightning strokes without jeopardizing the aircraft. Wingspars conduct the currents past the tanks. Sophisticated and regularly tested transient absorbers sit across the power buses. (My father has a patent on one such type of device.) The aircraft and systems are tested during qualification with huge "simulated" lighting generators. (The currents delivered by a range of lighting strokes are replicated, but the generator does not have to push charge through as large a gap as we see lighting bolts traversing.)

Passenger airplanes are not felled or even dangerously damaged by lighting anymore. So, if you want to worry about realistic hazards, you'd best find others. (There are plenty, as accident reports show.)

Hmm! Of all the things I can think of to worry about, the safety of U.S. operated airlines is very low on the list.

As for military safety. During my first year as a Naval Aviator the Navy lost about 700 aircraft--in peace time. None of them made the news beyond the local area, or in the hometown of the deceased pilot. Now the loss of one airplane is national news--just to put things in perspective. We have come a long way.

I will say that there was a time when taking a commercial flight as a passenger was fun. Not for awhile. On the other hand, among my (much) younger friends who are still flying for a living with the airlines, not a one is happy in his/her work.

Mr. Lifson, you apply skepicism to many things in life. I suggest aviation is another venue. I suggest you google airline fatalities for the last five years, or even fifty. Then a mea culpa is in order. ASMEL, Comm, Inst Certificate Holder

I'm sorry Mr. Lifson, I enjoy your work and The AT, but you sound like a whiny liberal. Should we have a congressional panel look into these incidents? Liberals love to exploit various stories to further their agenda and attack private industry. The airlines deserve our support and sympathy right now. They are victims of liberal policies and are struggling to overcome them (fuel prices). United States air travel is incredibly safe.

Things ccould be worse. In southeastern VA we are enjoying the smoke from a massive fire in the Dismal Swamp. The most optimistic projection is that by August we might get sufficient rain to put it out. The last fire of this magnitude in the swamp occurred in 1920 and lasted for three years! Maybe I'll move to Napa.