Why Airplanes Crash Aviation Safety in a Changing World [Hardcover]

This work examines the causes of airplane accidents and what private and public policies are needed to improve aviation safety. It begins by examining the safety record of the United States commuter airline industry in the post-deregulation era characterized by increased emphasis by airlines on cost control and growing pressures on the air traffic control and airport system. The authors go beyond the safety of the scheduled airlines to examine the reasons for accidents in the nonscheduled and general aviation segments of the United States industry, where the bulk of fatalities occur and where airline pilots increasingly receive most of their training and experience. They then turn to an examination of aviation safety throughout the world, first with a detailed comparison of Canadian and American aviation safety, and then with a look at air safety in all regions of the world and the safety performances of all the world's major airlines. Three emerging issues are then examined in greater detail: assessing the margin of safety, worldwide aging of all airline fleets, and terrorism.

To those concerned with aviation safety, this book provides a complete examination of the topic. --Policy Currents

This book should be on the desk of every airline and FAA executive concerned with safety; its conclusions should be the basis of a new aviation safety regulatory regime. --J.E. Murdock III,Baker, Worthington, Crossley, Stansberry & Woolf

These widely recognized experts on aviation safety have provided some important analysis on the subject, putting to rest some concerns that airline deregulation has made the skies less safe, but raising some thought-provoking policy questions about the future of aviation safety in an increasingly globalized and technologically sophisticated air system. It is very readable and a must for policymakers, the aviation industry and all frequent flyers. --John E. Robson,Deputy Secretary of Treasury