Free Republic

A well-maintained plane can fly for decades. Older planes do need more repairs, but experts say an aircraft's age never has been the cause of a passenger death. Pilot training and fatigue, as well as frequency of aircraft maintenance, are larger safety issues. The average age of jets flown by U.S. airlines is 11 years old, slightly above the world average of 10 but far shy of the 28 for Venezuela's fleet — the oldest of any country with more than a handful of jets. Theoretically, a jet could continue flying indefinitely as long as an airline maintained it, says...

Arrests raise air-safety concerns 3-12-05 By Taft Wireback Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- Air safety advocates are troubled by TIMCO's use of illegal immigrants to work on airplanes at Piedmont Triad International Airport not only for fear of terrorism, but also out of concern for mechanical errors that could put the flying public at risk. The company's use of undocumented immigrants could lead to a maintenance flaw with serious in-flight consequences, said Gail Dunham, president of the National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation. "TIMCO hired them because they are cheap," said Dunham, a Summerfield resident whose Washington-based group claims to...