Safety Dance
April 10th, 2008 - 12:21 am
Even though the chances of me ever coming to any harm whatsoever due to the fiery malfunction of an aircraft, my news reader is screaming at me to pay attention to the fact that THOUSANDS OF FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN CANCELED. Therefore, I have to comment on all the flight cancellations in the form of an analogy.
Have you ever taken a car in to be inspected, or ever known anyone who took a car in to be inspected, and had it not quite be up to par … and the car was driven away with an new inspection sticker anyway? Did you really think you were the only one they let pass with a “minor” safety violation?
Apply the same thinking to the airline industry and all forms of public and private transportation. Still feel safe?
Also, the current frenzy about airplane safety seems somewhat overwrought and panicky. It almost feels like some sort of security … or rather “safety” theater. It also reeks of being a distraction and makes me wonder what we should be hearing about and aren’t. You people who have been flying have been flying in these very planes, and it isn’t exactly like the planes have been falling out of the skies or these wires were just put in last week. It just all seems very reactionary.
In fact, after doing a little reading, it seems it isn’t really much of a safety issue at all, the “repair” is quite simple and doesn’t take long, and is something that could have been done without stranding and panicking hundreds of thousands of people all at once.
Garton said the airline was checking each aircraft to make sure bundles of wires in the right wheel well were tied down according to FAA rules. Garton said there was no safety issue with the wires, which manage auxiliary hydraulic pumps. Rather, there appears to be a trend recently to be sure airlines adhere to “the strict letter of the law” regarding FAA rules, he said.
American inspected the planes last month, but a recent audit found that some wiring was secured at intervals greater than the one-inch separation dictated by regulations.
Inspecting each plane, and then correcting the problem, takes “minutes to hours,” Garton said. After that, an FAA inspector must sign off on each aircraft before it goes back into service.
So, what is going on that we should be hearing about? You know what I find more worrisome than wiring bundles that are safe but not quite up to speck? Soldiers in Afghanistan being issued hand-held polygraphs and discussions about whether or not ISP’s should make their spyware opt-in or opt-out. Expect additional commentary on both those subjects, and likely more, tomorrow.
Why am I still upright and awake?!
4 Responses to “Safety Dance”
American Airlines announced that it will be giving $500 travel (vouchers) , hotel, and food vouchers to each of its customers that fell victim to the inspections. One has to consider that the end result of their customer service and inspection tactics, lost revenue as a result of the inspections and the higher cost of fuel of the inspections all of which somewhere down the line will result in the very near future will result in justified price increases.
I would think they are just trying to be very crafty to get an undue fare increase. Don’t think for a minute that the FFA safety inspectors would be beyond taking a slice of the pie. Never underestimate the formula of money, people, and deception especially when there are billions of dollars at stake.
It is a tactical matter to make the pie appear as small as possible in order to make it as big as possible without the gullible public knowing that a pie even exists at all. If you really believe that the Government and the airlines would be that negligent with so many planes and the lives of so many people have I got a deal for you.
$100 roundtrip on Mosquito Airlines. Just pay your money in advance, bring your own airplane, and let the nasty little bugs bite you in the ass while we count your money. By the way Tipping is strongly encouraged.
If you really believe that the Government and the airlines would be that negligent with so many planes and the lives of so many people have I got a deal for you.
That’s why all the hand waving smells so much. I assure you the first ten stories I read about it didn’t mention that there wasn’t actually a safety issue, the planes weren’t going to start falling out of the air at any moment, and it was a variation of specifications which was still within actual safety parameters but not the way they wanted it done. Good grief.
And you know, I keep reading they were supposed to be tied off every inch, but I have yet to be able to find out how “off” the specs the jobs were done. Are we talking a half inch off? An inch? Less … more? Until I find the answers to that and some proof that actual safety of humans was ever in doubt due to these wiring bundles, it’s just so much screaming at the wind and freaking out over something small, like one of your wiper blades not making 100% contact with the windshield on a rainy day. Sure, it sucks there’s a tiny little strip of windshield that isn’t getting cleared, but it isn’t something that requires coming to a screeching halt in the middle of a freeway to jump out and replace or fix either … causing a 50 car pileup in the process. It can probably wait until you have a minute to do it. Non-urgent.
But boy, the new organizations are just running with the OMG — PLANES ARE UNSAFE angle, aren’t they?
I could believe any organisation would be that negligent. I just find it hard to believe others wouldn’t. I know for a fact I’ve taken a train over broken tracks at least four times in my life.
I always just assume regulatory agencies are either willfully negligent or stupidly so (maybe both). It’s like the analogy I used the other day of a car passing inspection, even when there’s actually a minor problem. Sure, feels like someone is doing you a favor to tell you to get new wiper blades and let it pass anyway, which is what happened with the truck when I took it in, but then, I, of course, forgot to replace them and found myself grumbling and stressed when I had to drive in the rain. That sort of stuff happens everywhere at all levels.