Why Planes Crash

Boarding an airplane strikes at least a small sense of fear into most people. Even though we all have heard that the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of perishing in a plane crash, it still doesn't feel that way. Airplane crashes might be rare, but they do happen, and they’re usually fatal. David Soucie insists that most of these deaths could be prevented. He’s worked as a pilot, a mechanic, an FAA inspector, and an aviation executive. He’s seen death up close and personal—deaths of colleagues and friends that might have been pre-vented if he had approved certain safety measures in the aircrafts they were handling. His years of experience have led Dave to become an impassioned consultant on the topic of air-line safety. This includes not only advising the Obama administration, but also taking a leading role in the congressionally funded NextGen interdepartmental initiative in regards to both the department of transportation and the departments of defense, homeland security, FBI, CIA, and others. Find out the truth about airplane safety and discover what the future holds for air travel.

The past and future of airline safety—a memoir of successes, crashes, and near-misses—by a former pilot and FAA inspector.

This work examines the causes of airplane accidents and what private and public policies are needed to improve aviation safety. It begins by examining the safety record of the United States commuter airline industry in the post-deregulation era characterized by increased emphasis by airlines on cost control and growing pressures on the air traffic control and airport system. The authors go beyond the safety of the scheduled airlines to examine the reasons for accidents in the nonscheduled and general aviation segments of the United States industry, where the bulk of fatalities occur and where airline pilots increasingly receive most of their training and experience. They then turn to an examination of aviation safety throughout the world, first with a detailed comparison of Canadian and American aviation safety, and then with a look at air safety in all regions of the world and the safety performances of all the world's major airlines. Three emerging issues are then examined in greater detail: assessing the margin of safety, worldwide aging of all airline fleets, and terrorism.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the #1 bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things, a riveting novel about the choices that change the course of our lives. Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She's on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. As thoughts flash through her mind, Dawn braces herself for impact. The shocking thing is the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years earlier. Miraculously, Dawn survives the crash, but so do all the doubts she suddenly feels. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, she has her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula who helps to ease the transition between life and death for her clients. But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon. Now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the life choices she once made. After the crash, once they've been checked out by a doctor, the airline offers the passengers flights to a destination of their choice. The obvious thing for Dawn is to fly home, to her work, to her family. The other option that occurs to her, though, is to travel to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways--the first known map of the afterlife. As the story unfolds, Dawn's two futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts she's kept buried. And then there are the questions she's never truly asked: What does a well-lived life look like? When we leave the earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices or do our choices make us? And, who would you be, if you hadn't turned into the person you are right now?

With the deregulation of commercial airlines in 1978, the United States airline industry has changed dramatically. Route entry and exit flexibility, as well as fare setting have stimulated competition, forcing airlines to emphasize cost control, increased productivity, and effective marketing. How have these changes in both public and private policies influenced airline safety? Do airplanes have more accidents now than ever before? This work examines the causes of airplane accidents and what private and public policies are needed to improve aviation safety. It begins by examining the safety record of the United States commuter airline industry in the post-deregulation era characterized by increased emphasis by airlines on cost control and growing pressures on the air traffic control and airport system. The authors go beyond the safety of the scheduled airlines to examine the reasons for accidents in the nonscheduled and general aviation segments of the United States industry, where the bulk of fatalities occur and where airline pilots increasingly receive most of their training and experience. They then turn to an examination of aviation safety throughout the world, first with a detailed comparison of Canadian and American aviation safety, and then with a look at air safety in all regions of the world and the safety performances of all the world's major airlines. Three emerging issues are then examined in greater detail: assessing the margin of safety, worldwide aging of all airline fleets, and terrorism. Clearly written, this careful and systematic analysis of well over 15,000 individual aviation accidents will provide greater insight for government officials, aviation industrymanagers, and researchers, as well as laypeople and other frequent flyers.

At least 248 American troops didn't make it home for Christmas when the Arrow Air charter flight bringing them home from peacekeeping duties in the Sinai blew up after refueling at Gander, Newfoundland on December 12, 1985 - the worst peacetime military disaster in U.S. history. The Canadian investigators ignored the Islamic Jihad's claim of terrorist action and suppressed evidence of an in-flight explosion. A slim majority of the investigative board blamed the crash on the crew's inattention to a thin layer of ice on the DC-8's wings. The board disintegrated in controversy after a review by a former supreme court justice roundly rejected the ice theory. Les Filotas, one of the minority who disputed the ice theory, gives a fully-documented insider's account of the infamous investigation - and of the collapse of a long historical struggle to rid the investigation of aviation accidents of bureaucratic and political entanglements.

The past and future of airline safety—a memoir of successes, crashes, and near misses—by a former FAA accident inspector. Boarding an airplane strikes at least a small sense of fear into most people. Even though we all have heard that the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of perishing in a plane crash, it still doesn’t feel that way. Airplane crashes might be rare, but they do happen, and they’re usually fatal. David Soucie insists that most of these deaths could be prevented. He’s worked in the cockpit, on the hangar floor, within the aviation boardroom, and inside the Washington, DC, beltway. He’s seen death up close and personal—deaths of colleagues and friends that might have been prevented if he had approved certain safety measures in the aircraft they were handling. Years of experience have led Dave to become an impassioned consultant on the topic of airline safety. This includes not only advising the Obama administration, but also the Department of Transportation, the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, NASA, and the Office of National Intelligence. Soucie was also a lead consultant and analyst for coverage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014. Find out the truth about airplane safety and discover what the future holds for air travel in Safer Skies.

Planes have emergency exits, oxygen masks, and inflatable flotation devices for a reason. Major equipment failure, an extremely severe storm, or another unexpected happening can sometimes take a plane down. This high-interest title expands on the safety demonstration that flight attendants are so famous for making.