If I hear the words “faulty wiring” on the news one more time and any more breathless reporting about the flight cancellations, my head will surely explode. It’s really just the latest fear factor being poured into our brains. If this issue was urgent, really and truly a life-or-death situation that required such immediate and overwhelming overreaction, I’m just guessing the order to fix the tie-off spacing on these wiring bundles, the airlines wouldn’t have been given over a year to fix the problem.

The issue stems from an order that the Federal Aviation Administration gave airlines in September 2006 — and gave airlines until last month to meet — about the bundling of wires in the backup power system for the fuel pump of the MD-80 airplanes. The fear is that improperly bundled wires could rub, leading to an electrical short or even fire. However, no serious incidents have been blamed on the bundles, the FAA said.

What we have here appears to be a bad case of procrastination on the part of some airlines. They had 18 months to come into compliance, and they missed the deadline. Now suddenly, it’s a panic situation, and we have to hear about it non-stop on the news as though anyone flying could die at any moment if this fix isn’t done right this minute. Pardon me if I don’t panic.

If anyone wants to panic about those flying hunks of heavy metal zipping through the air overhead, trust me, there are things far more serious wrong with many of the planes in the air right this minute than the mis-tied wiring bundles everyone is currently wringing their hands over. Frequent fliers are probably best not knowing. Ignorance is bliss, after all. Alas, I read too many government reports, and safety issues are actually one of the 9,999 reasons I refuse to fly anywhere. This current issue that has the airline industry all in turmoil this week is barely even a blip on my safety radar. Cracked fuselages are a significantly more threatening safety issue, and that’s not getting nearly the same amount of airtime. Strange, isn’t it?