Believe me, I'm not trying to make light of airplane tragedies, including this one. It's just that many people think that flying is dangerous, and it really isn't, compared to the automobile. My heartfelt prayers for all the families and loved ones of this unfortunate flight.
I've heard a few commercial pilots say upon landing...."Thanks for flying with us. You're now about to start the most dangerous part of your journey when you get into your automobiles, so please drive safely."
Last year there were 43,443 deaths on our nation's highways from auto accidents, 4,553 from motorcycle accidents, and 4,881 pedestrians died. Additionally, 2.7 million people were injured.
In this article:
"Safety groups said more attention should be placed on traffic issues, arguing that a single airplane crash could lead to public outcries while more than 40,000 deaths on the roads fail to generate much response."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/23/ap/national/mainD8JLRKVG1.shtml
You are quite right...there does need some perspective..
Thank you.
One of the "cutest" statements I ever heard over the IC from a pilot was on a flight I made from Raleigh to Atlanta. (Airtran) They loaded us up, then unloaded us back into the terminal, due to a weatherhold for some bad stuff at ATL. During this hour or so in the terminal, the Captain and FO came out and spent some time at the ticket desk on the captain's laptop. I think they were looking at weather. Anyway, the Captain looked like he had definetely "paid his dues", you know, the 20000 or more hour type, probably he was even ex-Eastern. The FO looked like a pimple face kid right out of high school. I think the Captain heard some murmurs about how young the FO looked. Also this flight was just a few days after the JFK JR. crash, where there was some question of experience. After reboarding the AC, the captain came on the IC, said some words about how long to ATL, etc. then he said, "Folks, there has been a lot of talk this past week about flight experience, and I just want you to know that up here in this cockpit we have over 41 years of combined experience, and I have 40 of 'em. Enjoy your flight."