Safe to fly

The quest for the ultimate pushchair continues. Spent more time researching and came up with more possibilities. The choices are too much. Came across a really cool looking pushchair, the 3Tec by ABC Design, but I can't find any reviews about it. My wife is particularly interested in the Phil & Teds Sport buggy which again looks very cool, but is very expensive - starting from £294.95, for the buggy only. The ideal pushchair is one that allows the carseat to sit on the frame without having to remove the pushchair, is easy to fold, lightweight, affordable and not a Graco. The search continues...

Having entertained you enough about my pushchair needs, time for something more interesting I hope. I'm sure you all remember the upsetting news last week of an aeroplane crash in Madrid, claiming upto 153 lives. I can't imagine how it must feel for the family and friends of the victims, but needless to say, it was a great tragedy.

Having recently flown to India and Pakistan, I took the flights for granted, nothing was going to go wrong and thankfully nothing did. However, unfortunately accidents happen. I think of the passengers in the Madrid flight. They, like most of us, would have checked in their baggage as normal, waited in the departure lounge and then boarded the flight as scheduled. On the plane they would've jostled for the overhead storage and then settle into their allocated seat, putting on the flimsy waist seat-belt. As the plane prepared for take-off, they would've sat in their seats reading/chatting/sleeping, not paying attention to the safety advice from the air hostesses. As the plane accelerated down the runway, people would brace themselves for take off and then... crash... nothing...

When I think about the whole process that you and I go through as a routine, even though we perhaps don't fly very often, flying is exactly that - a routine. Unfortunately, the routine was tragically ruined on that flight in Madrid.

However, as I think about the accident, I feel reassured when I look at the statistics. Flying remains, by far, the safest mode of travel. Flying carries a 1 in 2.5million chance of being killed. Travelling on a train carries a 1 in 50,000 chance and in a car, the chance increases further to 1 in 200. On top of that, in the last year there have been no accidents involving large passenger air crafts that caused loss of life in Britain. I know there was a recent mid-air collision in Coventry, but that involved two microlight planes and "only" 5 people died. Traumatic for the family of the victims, but last year almost 3,000 people died on the road (a record low by the way), what about their family and friends?

Aeroplane flights have to follow rigorous safety procedures. Each aircraft is kept at least a mile apart, pilots and crew get trained every six months and we the passengers are informed where the life jackets are, where the exits are and how to use the oxygen masks, even though we hardly listen. On the road however, there is no rigorous safety procedures - could you pass your driving test if you had to re-take it tomorrow? I probably couldn't.

As the number of people flying has increased over the past few decades, the number of accidents have decreased. Its become safer as time as gone on. In 1976 there were 3 accidents per million flights worldwide, in 2007 that was down to 0.65 per million. Flying is five times more safer than in 1976. The decrease is down to improving aircraft technology. The aeroplane is the safest element when it comes to considering causes of the accidents. Nowadays the accidents are mostly caused by pilot error. Almost always there is no single cause of a crash, often it is an accumulation of factors.

Of course for those unfortunate victims and their families it's not going to make a difference - they've just become a statistic themselves. My words can never be a consolation for them, but hopefully for the readers who haven't suffered such a tragic bereavement, the figures reflect the safety of flying and perhaps make us feel better before our next holiday abroad.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?