Airline Safety – Should Passengers Be Concerned

In the wake of several major commercial plane crashes, many people are concerned more than ever about commercial air travel safety. There were twice as many major plane crashes in the first six months of 2008, but so far in 2009, commercial airliner crashes have claimed five times as many lives as the previous year. Almost 400 people have died in major airline disasters so far in 2009.

On January 15, 2009, all 155 people aboard US Airways Flight 1549 survived when the pilot landed the Airbus A320 on New York's Hudson River after it was damaged by a flock of birds. The flight was three minutes into the flight from LaGuardia when the bird strikes forced the emergency landing in Manhattan.

On February 12, 2009, Colgan Air 3407 crashed in Clarence Center near Buffalo, N.Y. killing all 49 aboard. This Bombardier Q400, while on it's way from Newark N.J. was being used as a Continental Connection regional airline carrier. This was the first air fatality aboard a U.S. commercial carrier since 2007.

On Febuary 25, 2009, a Turkish Air Flight 1951 crashed killing 9 more people. The Boeing 737-800 crashed at Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam. This airliner disaster not only claimed the 9 lives but of the 127 that were aboard, but 84 were injured and 6 of those were critically injured.

On June 1, 2009, an Air France Flight 447 "dropped vertically out of the sky" 930 miles off the coast of Brazil, killing all 228 passengers. Early suspicions of the cause point to the pilots tubes on the Airbus A330-200. These tubes inform the pilots of the aircraft's airspeed. The indication of the vertical impact suggests that the plane was not carring enough air speed to stay in flight.

On June 30, 2009, the most recent crash occurred when a Yemeni Airways commercial plane crashed into the Indian Ocean killing 153. The Airbus 310-300 was flying from Paris to Comoros. The Yemenia (Yemen Airways) plane was the second French-made "Airbus" to crash into the sea in the month of June.

The NTSB is investigating all of these incidents to find all possible causes. Should passengers be concerned?

A recent study by N.Y.U. stated that the death rates per one billion passenger miles are 11.7 for automobiles compared with 0.87 for all air travel.

If a family member or other loved one has been the victim of an aviation disaster you need an experienced aviation attorney. Please call or click to speak directly with B. Keith Williams.

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