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Air Travel…A Calculated Risk?

Recent debacles featured in the news remind us that flying is a remarkable leap of faith routinely taken by millions of travelers worldwide.

By Anthony C. Roman | Updated on April 25, 2012
The mysteries that are hidden behind the cockpit door of a commercial airliner or corporate jet are rarely thought about by most travelers. After boarding, we conduct business, are excited to be on vacation or are concerned about whether they are on-time. We make our last call, send an e-mail or text and settle down to either a nap or an anxious takeoff. We know little about the engineering magic that makes a 400-plus ton machine on a tricycle gear lift itself towards the sky. We think very little about the two strangers sitting in the cockpit wearing crisp company uniforms with striped epaulets on their shoulders. 

We do not know where they learned to fly, whether they were at the top or bottom of their class, what problems they suffer in their lives, or other factors that may affect their competency during your flight. Yet, we routinely allow them to take us hurtling down the runway at approximately 150 miles per hour, then 5 to 7 miles above Earth into the stratosphere, a remarkably hostile environment often with hurricane force winds and Arctic winter temperatures, flying at speeds of 500 miles per hour or even faster. This allows us to soar to a place where the air is so thin that most of us would be rendered unconscious in a very short period of time. When given a moment’s thought, it is a remarkable leap of faith routinely taken by millions of travelers worldwide.

Alarming News HeadlinesWhat should we think about the recent published events about flight attendants opening the cabin door of an airliner while taxiing, deploying the emergency chute and escaping with two beers, one in each hand? Or what about the flight attendant who may have suffered a nervous breakdown during a flight—you know, the one that was screaming about bombs and crashing? Most recently, the captain of a popular and well-known airline, reportedly with an impeccable reputation, disrupted a flight with shouts and screams about bombs and al-Qaeda. Is there a history of these incidents? Sadly, yes. 

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