The Truth About Airplane Safety

Airplane micro-disasters have been in the news lately. I call them micro because loss of life was avoided, but collisions and a door blowing out of a plane is enough to worry any regular traveler. So it was heartening to read a piece this week by Princeton professor Zeynep Tufekci about the broader view that every accident and the response to it might be an unheralded example of things going right.

As she goes on to explain, the "no blame" process of investigating accidents encourages people to be forthcoming so that the ultimate goal is to prevent the same thing happening again. Everything from putting tray tables away, to crew training and to fire resistant seat cushions are all examples of a term you might be unfamiliar with: "competent bureaucrats." Things, in other words, are working the way they are supposed to so that accidents can be minimized.

Doors blowing out of a plane with a force that rips someone's shirt off are never positive stories to read. Still, this article did make me feel a little better that at least one safety system is working the way it is meant to work.