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Take the flight with the understanding your biggest risk will be driving to the airport. It was an isolated incident, far less common than traffic fatalities.
Agreed.....relax take the flight and know you're more likely to be struck by lightning than to go out an aircraft window......
Absolutely true that luck is a factor. Luck that it didn't happen on initial climbout. Luck that the damage wasn't worse (that secondary systems weren't affected). Luck that there was good weather at PHL. But luck doesn't get the plane down on the ground safely. That's skill and mostly training. Most travelers don't realize just how much recurrent training airline pilots perform, or what that training consists of. As Pilot1 said, they regularly train engine out and sudden cabin depressurization procedures. Because of the training, if a real emergency happens they already KNOW what to do: they don't have to think about it, they just fall back on their training. The same is true for the flight attendants.
Yes--different day, different location--different outcome
Sullenberger admitted that his flight outcome was as successful as it was because of many factors--not just his performance...
My neighbor (AA pilot) went for flight training Friday---
His wife says he loves it...big video game simulator
I always wondered why airplanes do not have 3 point seat belts like automobiles (not just lap belts). I am not saying a 3 point seat belt would have helped in this exact situation, as perhaps the force would have ripped her out of the restraint. Also a 3 point seat belt wouldn't work in this situation if the passenger was not wearing her seat belt at the time the window was broken by the engine shrapnel.
Plus with airplane seats getting smaller and smaller (especially on 737's) where would they put a 3 point seat belt? Bottom dollar first for the shareholders, safety (and comfort!) a distant second... Just my unpopular opinion.
I always wondered why airplanes do not have 3 point seat belts like automobiles (not just lap belts). I am not saying a 3 point seat belt would have helped in this exact situation, as perhaps the force would have ripped her out of the restraint. Also a 3 point seat belt wouldn't work in this situation if the passenger was not wearing her seat belt at the time the window was broken by the engine shrapnel.
Those seatbelts are very strong. They find bodies still strapped in after crashes. If your seatbelt is on, and reasonable tight, a depressurization won't pull you out of it. I keep mine on, but mainly for turbulence as I don't want to hit my head on the luggage bin above me.
So we should take all Honda Accords off the road because one had some type of failure that put the occupants at risk? The 737 is one of the most common, safest aircraft in the fleet. There are risks in all facets of life, and travel is one of them. The fact that this wasn't more of a disaster is a testament to pilot training, and Boeing.
Not to take anything away but this thread has post about a maintenance issue that needs to be addressed
And likely was not detected on this plane
I have no idea WHY it wasn't
Laziness or cutting corners I don't think is much of problem w/SWA because of the excellent flying record
But who knows why
I would think this situatuion could be similar to the GM switch problem that was known to the company and just not prioritized--
Luck of the draw that YOUR plane won't be next---lot of people will take that chance because odds seem to be in the Flyers' corner
But maybe this is just the aging of the fleet
Maybe they bought certain number of fans that were defective because of some production flaw and it didn't show up until years later
Remember the movie w/Jack Lemon and Jane Fonda--"The China Syndrome"
Nuclear plant has structural weakness because engineering company didn't want to pay to X-ray the welds--
Hyperbolic to some people because it was trying to defame use of nuclear power plants
But we all know stories of businesses that for various reasons and levels of culpability have allowed/ignored dangers to the public, their customers, the environment to continue
Tanaka airbags ring a bell?
One of the GOP candidates running for Senator in WVA has gone to jail for year because he knowingly allowed his company to pollute a waterway in the state...
So yes, companies sometimes don't pay attention to factors that could be dangerous...
I'll be flying on a B737 tomorrow, but I am not going to get worked up over 2 incidents across heaven knows how many flight hours.
Turbine blades have a nonzero risk of failing. Cowling rings have a nonzero risk of failing. The chances of the dice falling so that both happen is still very low indeed.
This is horrifying. I didn't see any blood on the seat in the photos, so maybe it was all these other injuries that killed her. I was curious about the guy who was interviewed who was three rows behind where it happened. He had sent a joking tweet about the incident, but said that was before he knew a passenger had died. But how could he not have seen all the hubbub with the other passengers trying to get her back in the plane, or the EMTs removing her from the plane? And did you see the video from another passenger -- it is eerily quiet other than the rush of the wind. I guess no one was taking a chance screaming, as they'd have to remove their oxygen mask.
Anyway, since this is rare but has happened before (someone being sucked out of a window), wonder why there isn't a bar over the window to prevent a body's being able to fit through the opening?
^^^^^This. Pilots practice emergency procedures, and engine out procedures A LOT. Lots of SIM time. It works. Much of learning to fly is practicing what to do when things go wrong.
The Pilot Captain was a former Navy (Uhrahh!) Fighter Pilot!
Never considered that..Usually I go for a window seat. Not anymore..
The odds are definitely with you......if you still like that window seat. Remember, the pilots have large window seats.
About 700 million US passengers per year. If one gets sucked out per decade, that's a 1 in 7 BILLION odds.
Anything over 1 in 10,000,000 or so if fine for me. After all, your lifetime odds of dying in a car wreck are better than 1 in 500.
(note - various sources quote it as low as 1 in 300 and as high as one in 700 - in any case, terrible odds and very few would ever drive if they understood these implications).
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Just my unpopular opinion.
