Air Travel is Safe: Is it?

Though statistically flying is nowadays an extremely safe form of transportation, accidents do occur. The relative rarity of such incidents coupled with the often dramatic outcome, is definitely one reason why such incidents still make breaking news across the globe. Even though the odds of actually getting caught in a plane crash are nowadays distinctly low (the odds of dying on a commercial airline flight are as low as 9 million to 1!) compared to other means of transportation, the probability of not surviving such a disaster are notably higher. And it's an open secret that a lot can go wrong at 33,000 feet above the ground, and if you’re unlucky enough to be aboard when something does, the decisions you make could mean the difference between life and death. If we look at the air disaster events of last year (i.e. 2006), it does force you to think twice while deciding about air travel.

Air Disaster Events of 2006:

Date	Airline/Location	Location	Aircraft Type/Registration	Fatalities
01.19.2006	Slovak Air Force	Hejce, Hungary	Antonov AN-24B	42:43:00
			5605
03.31.2006	TEAM Transportes Aéreos	Saquarema, Brazil	Let 410UVP-E20	19:19
			PT-FSE
04.16.2006	Transporte Aéreo Militar - TAM	Guayaramerín, Bolivia	Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M	1:31
			FAB-91
04.27.2006	LAC - SkyCongo	Amisi, Congo	Convair CV-580F	8:08
			ZS-SKH
05.03.2006	Armavia	Sochi, Russia	Airbus A320-211	113:113
			EK-32009
07.09.2006	Sibir Airlines	Irkutsk, Russia	Airbus A310-324	127:201
			F-OGYP
08.22.2006	Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise	Donetsk, Ukraine	Tupolev TU-154M	171:171
			RA-85185
08.27.2006	Comair	Lexington, Kentucky, USA	Bombardier Canadair CRJ-100ER	49:50:00
			N431CA
09.01.2006	Iran Air Tour	Mashad, Iran	Tupolev TU-154M	29:147
			EP-MCF
09.29.2006	Gol Transportes Aéreos	São Félix do Xingu, Brazil	Boeing 737-8EH	155:155
			PR-GTD
10.10.2006	Atlantic Airways	Stord, Norway	British Aerospace BAe-146-200A	3:16
			OY-CRG
10.29.2006	Aviation Development Corporation	Abuja, Nigeria	Boeing 737-2B7	96:105+1
			5N-BFK
11.17.2006	Trigana Air Service	Puncak Jaya, Indonesia	de Havilland DHC-6Twin Otter 300	12:12
			PK-YPY
Registration Number: The unique registration number of the aircraft involved in the accident. Registrations are prefaced with a country code such as 'N' for the United States, 'G-' for Great Britain, or 'SU-' for Egypt.
Courtsey: Airdisaster.com

Kenya Airways 737-800 Crashed

The Nairobi-bound Boeing 737-800 that departed from Douala airport early Saturday, an hour late because of rain, with 105 passengers and nine crew members on board had issued a distress call shortly after take-off. But then lost contact with the radio tower between 11 and 13 minutes afterwards, officials said. The wreckage was found about 12 miles southeast of Douala, along its flight path. Ironically, Kenya Airways is considered one of the safest airlines in Africa. The Douala-Nairobi flight runs several times a week, and is commonly used as an intermediary flight to Europe and the Middle East.

What Causes Air Accidents?
Approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing, and are typically the result of human error and/or unregarded technical problems within an aircraft; mid-flight disasters are rare but not entirely unheard of. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs as in the 1988 Lockerbie incident, mid-air collisions such as in the 2002 Überlingen crash, structural failure as in the 1954 Comet disasters and 1988 Aloha Airlines incident, or in cases of (purportedly) mistaken identity where civilian aircraft were shot down by military (compare Korean Air Flight 007).

An accident survey of 2,147 aircraft accidents from 1950 through 2004 determined the causes to be as follows:

• 45%: Pilot error


• 33%: Undetermined or missing in the record


• 13%: Mechanical failure


• 7%: Weather


• 5%: Sabotage (bombs, hijackings, shoot-downs)


• 4%: Other human error (air traffic controller error, improper loading of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc.)


• 1%: Other cause

*The survey excluded military, private, and charter aircraft.

A study by Boeing determined the primary cause of Airline hull loss accidents (worldwide commercial jet fleet), from 1996 through 2005, to be:

• 55%: Flight Crew error


• 17%: Airplane


• 13%: Weather


• 7%: Misc./Other


• 5%: ATC


• 3%: Maintenance

Top 10 Airline Safety Tips (by Airsafe.com)
Let us also look at how we could work towards minimizing the air travel risks.

• Fly on Nonstop Routings
  
  Most accidents occur during the takeoff, climb, descent, and landing phase of flight so flying nonstop would reduce exposure to these most accident prone phases of flight.


• Choose Larger Aircraft
  
  Currently, aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats were all designed and certified under the strictest regulations. Also, in the unlikely event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity for passenger survival.


• Pay Attention to the Preflight Briefing
  
  Although the information seems repetitious, the locations of the closest emergency exits may be different depending on the aircraft that you fly on and seat you are in.


• Keep the Overhead Storage Bin Free of Heavy Articles
  
  Overhead storage bins may not be able to hold very heavy objects during turbulence, so if you or another passenger have trouble lifting an article into the bin, have it stored elsewhere.


• Keep Your Seat Belt Fastened While You are Seated
  
  Keeping the belt on when you are seated provides that extra protection you might need if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.


• Listen to the Flight Attendants
  
  The primary reason flight attendants are on an aircraft is for safety, so if one of them asks you to do something like fasten your seat belts, do it first and ask questions later.


• Don't Bring Any Hazardous Material
  
  There are rather long lists of hazardous materials that are not allowed, but common sense should tell you that you shouldn't bring gasoline, corrosives, poisonous gases, and other such items on the aircraft unless they were allowed by the airline and shipped in a proper container.


• Let the Flight Attendant Pour Your Hot Drinks
  
  Flight attendants are trained to handle hot drinks like coffee or tea in a crowded aisle on a moving aircraft, so allow them to pour the drink and hand it too you.


• Don't Drink Too Much
  
  The atmosphere in an airliner cabin is pressurized to about the same altitude as Denver, so any alcohol you consume will affect you more strongly than at sea level. Moderation is a good policy at any altitude.


• Keep Your Wits About You
  
  In the unlikely event that you are involved in an emergency situation such as a precautionary emergency evacuation, follow the directions of the flight attendants and flight crew and exit the aircraft as quickly as possible.

Related Articles:

• Interesting article on Surviving Plane Crash at Wikihow.com
• Want more information on Airline Crashes? Check Planecrashinfo.com
• Boeing Survey Indicates Most Air Travelers Feel Safe
• Are the skies safe enough?
• Fatal Boeing 737 Events
• Aviation Safety Network (get the latest news/updates on Air Incidents)

Air Travel in India

With India's economic and business growth, the percentage of traveling population is burgeoning. More and more Indians are traveling for both business and pleasure and everyone needs to save both time and money. As a result over the last few years, there has been a revolution in Indian Air Travel Business. In fact, Air travel in India has followed a metamorphosis over the last decade and this is largely attributed to the Open Sky policy introduced by the Indian Government. This policy basically allowed the private players to enter the arena of Indian Air space. As an immediate effect, Air Travel in India has indeed become cheaper (compared to how it used to be even 3-4 years back) and has become more affordable to the mass. And the number of people traveling by air has gone up drastically. However, it is apt to mention that the lucrative Air Fares offered by the so called Budget Airlines like Air Deccan, Spice Jet, GoAir, Indigo are gradually losing its shine & is failing to convince the Indian Middle Class towards air travel. One of the major issue has definitely been the price of Aviation Fuel, which in India have gone up quite fast over the last year or so. And Jet fuel prices being the major factor determining air fares (accounting for almost 25% of the cost of air travel), any hike in aviation turbine fuel prices immediately impacted airline operations. Of late the Government of India also introduced an Airport Traffic Congestion Charge...which also got transmitted to the end customers, resulting in another level of air fare hike.
Apart from regular fare hikes, Indian Air Travel is also suffering from poor infrastructure across the country and even important Airports like HAL (Bangalore) fails to produce quality & effecient service to the air travelers. Adding to the suffering are the facts that Indian Ecommerce is still in its infancy & that leads to severe problem to Air Traveler who prefers buying tickets Online.

The major Airlines Operators in India:

Air Deccan: [http://www.flyairdeccan.net]
Established in 2003 by Captain G R Gopinath, it has stabilized itself as one of the most used Air Career for the Indian Middle Class. Unfortunately, very recently Air Deccan introduced a New Air Ticket Booking system, which ended up being a nightmare not only to the end users (where the system might show declined payment & won't issue a ticket...whereas in reality your card might end up getting charged), but also created a major problem to the Air Deccan administration.

Jet Airways: [http://www.jetairways.com/]
Jet Airways, which commenced operations on May 5, 1993, has within a short span of 13 years established its position as a market leader. The airline has had the distinction of being repeatedly adjudged India’s ‘Best Domestic Airline’ and has won several national and international awards.
Airline Code: 9W.
IATA Membership: Active Member and a member of the IATA Clearing House. Also a participant of the IATA Multilateral Agreement for Passengers and Cargo Traffic.

Fleet Combination (as of April 2007):

Boeing 737-700
ATR 72-500
Boeing 737-800
Airbus 340-300E
Boeing 737-900
Boeing 737-400
Boeing 737-800
Airbus 330-200
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-700
Boeing 737-800





Spicejet [http://www.spicejet.com/]
SpiceJet's new generation fleet of aircraft is backed by cutting edge technology and infrastructure to ensure the highest standards in operating efficiency. With maintenance support by KLM and state of the art technology from world leaders like Star Navigation, Russell Adams and Tech Log there will be no compromise on safety, reliability or on-time travel. The company has tied up with Navitaire the world’s renowned low-cost support for reservations and revenue management. E-booking and e-ticketing facilities are available online along with tele-booking.

Fleet:
SpiceJet has opted for new generation Boeing 737-800s. These are typically 189 seater aircraft with CFM56-7B24 engines, having a range of 3,060 nautical miles (5425 km).









View a list of Airports in India.