Recent aviation disasters cause fears about the safety of flying
Recent aviation disasters and close calls definitely have people worried about the safety of flying
The spate of recent aviation disasters and close calls have people worried about the safety of flying.
The midair collision that killed 67 near Washington, the fiery plane crash in Philadelphia and now a missing plane in Alaska are only the most high-profile disasters. There was also a Japan Airlines plane that clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle airport earlier this week and a United Airlines plane caught fire during takeoff at the Houston airport Sunday after an engine problem sparked a fire on the wing.
That's not even to mention the security concerns that arose after stowaways were found dead inside the wheel wells of two planes and aboard two other flights. And don't forget about the time that a passenger opened an emergency exit door on a plane while it was taxiing for takeoff in Boston.
So of course people are wondering whether their flight is safe?
The Jan. 29 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter killed everyone aboard both aircraft. It was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground. There hadn't even been a deadly crash of any kind involving a U.S. airliner since February 2009.
Crashes are more common involving smaller planes like the single-engine Cessna that crashed in Alaska on Thursday. Ten people including the pilot were killed.
A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. That Learjet generated a massive fireball
Read more on abcnews.go.com
