“There’s no need to worry that there’s something systemic wrong with the airline industry,” Clint Balogh, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told USA TODAY.
This year has been a year of heightened tensions over air travel. A series of high-profile incidents has put airline and manufacturer safety in the spotlight, leaving many travelers wondering whether planes are still the safest form of travel.
“We’re at a point in the last few months where we’re seeing more incidents, more incidents happening, so we’re paying more attention now,” Balogh said. “We’re in a period where we’re seeing a lot of these incidents.”
Laura Einsettler is a captain for a major U.S. airline. Captain Laura’s Blogsaid that people’s awareness of aviation accidents is also higher than before.
“One aspect is that now, thanks to social media and the internet, we have access to everything that’s going on around the world. 2023 is actually the biggest year in our industry ever. “While it has been a safe year, there is a recognition that there is more going on,” she said.
Boeing, the proud aircraft manufacturer, is at the center of the current series of events. An explosive decompression on an Alaska Airlines flight in January brought new attention to the company’s already mired 737 Max program. Before the pandemic, two 737 Max jets crashed overseas, killing 346 people. Those early disasters cast a shadow over Boeing’s newest jet, which was still trying to claw its way out of the abyss. Experts say the Alaska Airlines crash narrowly avoided death or serious injury.
Cruising altitude:I’ve been covering Boeing’s 737 MAX for years. I will briefly summarize the problem here.
Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an audit of Boeing’s manufacturing processes and found the company’s safety culture lacking.
Still, Balogh said people who fly should still feel safe.
“I’m happy to fly any Boeing aircraft, including the 737 Max. It’s a great airplane,” he said. “No organization is perfect, and if errors occur in the airline industry, it’s not surprising that they occur in groups like this. These instances are rarely evenly spaced.”
Einsettler also said passengers don’t need to worry too much about taking to the skies.
“When you look at the pilots who risk our lives every day to keep everyone safe, it makes us feel very safe and comfortable to be at the tip of the spear and at the head of the flight. You can trust that we will keep you safe when you fly the aircraft on deck for you,” she said.
Boeing isn’t the only airline that’s been getting attention lately.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby sent a letter to customers on Monday responding to a series of high-profile issues with the airline. In the past two months alone, United Airlines planes have experienced problems such as stuck rudder pedals on landing, engine fires and wheels falling off on departing jets.
Kirby’s letter asserted that the incidents were all unrelated and that United Airlines has renewed its focus on safety.
Mr Balogh said Mr Kirby was right to claim the incident was a one-off.
“What all of that basically involves is that these are human factors issues, these are human error issues,” he said. “This is not about the aircraft, it’s about the humans who perform these functions. A tire falling off a Boeing 777 during takeoff is a human factors issue, it’s a maintenance issue.”
Balogh said while recent incidents like the one at United can point to systemic problems, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s any inherent danger in the way United operates. said.
He said that while the current high-profile issues in the aviation industry ultimately come down to human error, they are easy enough to address and fix.
“There are going to be problems because there are humans involved in these incidents and there are humans involved in this operation to fly the general public. We have to look at the big picture to feel safe.” said Balogh. “No human activity is completely safe. You would be hard-pressed to find a safer operation in the world today than civil aviation.”
Einsettler also said the airline industry has more new employees than it has in a while, so new employees may have a hard time re-growing and training this quarter as they settle into the job.
What do recent events mean for travelers?
While Boeing has received particular attention for its recent aviation accidents, Balogh and Einsettler said passengers need to understand that each accident is very different.
“In these cases, in most cases, they are unrelated events. As an industry, we will be careful, understand, and learn from them to ensure that something like this never happens again,” Einsettler said. Told.
While passengers may wonder whether Boeing problems or maintenance issues were the root cause of a particular incident, Balogh said that’s the wrong question to ask.
“As far as passengers understanding what the root causes are, they don’t really understand,” he says. That’s why regulators conduct months-long investigations into aviation accidents, thoroughly digging into all the contributing factors.
“I don’t think there’s anything particularly systemic wrong with Boeing. It’s not surprising that most of these problems occur on Boeing aircraft,” Balogh said. “There are many other Boeing aircraft in the world.”
Who is responsible for investigating aircraft accidents?
The National Transportation Safety Board generally has jurisdiction over accident and incident investigations, and the Federal Aviation Administration also acts as an industry regulator, including developing and enforcing new rules based on NTSB findings. Industry participants, such as aircraft and component manufacturers and airlines, may participate in investigations based on the specifics of each incident.
How many problems did Boeing have this year?
The Alaska Airlines door plug incident is the main focus of Boeing’s problems, and Boeing aircraft have been involved in several other high-profile incidents, including a LATAM 787 that nosedived, possibly due to unexpected movement of a cockpit seat. However, manufacturers are not directly involved.
▶ January 2024: Alaska Airlines is forced to make an emergency landing of its recently acquired 737 MAX 9 aircraft after a mid-air cabin explosion causes the FAA to ground 171 of these jets and begin an investigation. The FAA also prohibits Boeing from increasing the MAX’s power output, but will lift the grounding of the MAX-9 once inspections are complete.
▶ February 2024: The NTSB releases its preliminary report on the Alaska Airlines accident involving a Boeing 737 MAX jet. Investigation revealed that the door panel, which flew off the jet during the flight, was missing four key bolts.
▶ March 2024: FAA’s 737 MAX manufacturing audit finds multiple instances of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems allegedly failing to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.
Contributed by: Reuters
Zach Wictor is a travel writer for USA TODAY based in New York. Please contact us at zwichter@usatoday.com.
