Despite the headlines air travel is safer than ever

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31133246

Despite the headlines air travel is safer than ever



(continued)

[pErvinalia]

I fucking hope so. I'm flying in a few weeks with the airline that crashed last month (Air Asia).

[rainbow]

It's what they want you to believe.

[mistermack]

air travel is safer than ever

Not if you're a Jordanian pilot.

[Hermit]

air travel is safer than ever

Not if you're a Jordanian pilot.

...of a fighter/bomber jet in a war zone.

[pErvinalia]

Or a bird who lives near an airport.

[Hermit]

Or aviation fuel. You're bound to get burnt and your remains will be scattered into the atmosphere at an altitude of 12 kilometres. Happy landing, fellas.

[pErvinalia]

Or oxygen.

[mistermack]

Or a hijacker.

[Blind groper]

The old slogan about flying being safer than driving a car is actually cherry picking data.

If you calculate deaths per kilometer travelled, travelling by air is safer. But if you calculate it as deaths per hour travelling, then there are more deaths in aircraft.

[Hermit]

Kilometres travelled in a vehicle is a more relevant criterion than time spent in a vehicle, don't you think? If nothing else, time spent per kilometre travelled makes air travel even more attractive over tarmac travel. I certainly know which option I prefer when given the choice of 17 hours travel time to Sydney from where I live compared to two and a quarter. And statistically speaking more people have died covering that route by road than by air.

[Brian Peacock]

17 hours? Luxury...

[Hermit]

Well, that's assuming an average speed of 100 km/h. Including rest stops I have done that trip in 24 hours with two of us taking turns at driving.

The 77 kilometre stretch of road between the town I live in and the next one on the way to Sydney has cost the lives of at least seven people in the ten years I lived here. Three accidents, all of them head-ons.

[rainbow]

The old slogan about flying being safer than driving a car is actually cherry picking data.

If you calculate deaths per kilometer travelled, travelling by air is safer. But if you calculate it as deaths per hour travelling, then there are more deaths in aircraft.

Not to mention the time spent in airports due to your flight being cancelled/delayed/rescheduled.

[piscator]

Well, that's assuming an average speed of 100 km/h. Including rest stops I have done that trip in 24 hours with two of us taking turns at driving.

The 77 kilometre stretch of road between the town I live in and the next one on the way to Sydney has cost the lives of at least seven people in the ten years I lived here. Three accidents, all of them head-ons.

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