Last night,on national geographic,I watched this documentary about the commercial aircraft industry.It was all about what they call 'tombstone technology'.This means that the industry only makes technological improvements regarding safety after a severe accident has happened.Bluntly said,if enough people die,or enough planes get wrecked,due to a weakness in an airplane causing crashes,then,and only then,the problem will be dealt with.Most of those weak spots are known and improvements are ready to be used,but they just don't use 'em.Nope,first enough people have to die.One thing that struck me was a lady,safety expert (forgot the exact name of her function), who said that you can't use safety to attract customers.You can use entertainment(video games,movies,etc..) to attract customers,but not safety!She showed an example: one company refused to install a safety device because of the extra cost and weigth.They did install entertainment 10 times the weight of the safety device + 8km (5 miles)extra wiring!They didn't mention the cost(or I forgot).Now ,electrical wires are a big problem in a plane,'cause you cannot rewire an airplane.Many accidents are caused by problems in the electrical cicuit.
Very intresting documentary.
SLAL's conclusion?I say,buy a simple plastic chess set for every two seats(costs 10$ a set?),put me next to someone that plays chess and make your freaking plane safe!
Thanks for reading this longish post,
Sir Lot.
Originally posted by SirLoseALotYes, it's very scary. Money is put before human lives. How sad...
It's not just american airlines.The entire industry,worldwide,works like this.Pretty scary if you think about it.
If only we had politicians with spines strong enough to put a stop to this. But sadly, we don't.
Originally posted by wibAnother thing they showed.This was in america,it's a good example of money before lives: a big problem in some areas was 'windsheering'.Did you ever see those towers with huge 'golfballs' on top,those prevent windsheering accidents.I can't explain how,maybe try look it up on the net.They had the technology but never used it 'cause it was too expensive.Then they did a cost/benefit study and it turned out having those 'golfballs' on every airport was cheaper than what they had to pay the families of people who died in deadly crashes caused by windsheering.The study only took the amount of money paid in 1 year!They were quickly installed after that.A little late for some though.....
Yes, it's very scary. Money is put before human lives. How sad...
If only we had politicians with spines strong enough to put a stop to this. But sadly, we don't.
Its the same everywhere: In Toronto, Canada, there is a pedestrian crossing on a busy street. For years, locals had complained because of numerous close calls, some involving children. City Hall said traffic lights were not justified. One day, a dump truck ran down and killed a little girl there. Now, there are lights.
as some of you might know i am an air traffic controller. the manual we use for contralling aircraft is called the 7110.65 it always get one or two updates every year. many say that it is written in blood. this is totally true unfortunately, but what would you expect really? people make laws to prevent something bad from happening again right? i think its all just looking at history and trying not to be doomed to repeat it.
Originally posted by usmc7257Yes,of course,we learn from our mistakes.But this is different.In many cases they are aware of the problem and have the means to solve it but don't because it costs too much.
as some of you might know i am an air traffic controller. the manual we use for contralling aircraft is called the 7110.65 it always get one or two updates every year. many say that it is written in blood. this is totally true unfortunately, but what would you expect really? people make laws to prevent something bad from happening again right? i think its all just looking at history and trying not to be doomed to repeat it.