Here Comes the Pun

evangotlib:

johncabrera:

REDUCE YOUR CHANCES OF DYING IN A PLANE CRASH

Interesting.

This is entirely irresponsible and inaccurate. In all of these charts, there is no taking into account for the frequency of air service. Nothing in these charts will reduce your chances of dying in a plane crash. If anything, it will increase your chances of having a heart attack as you dig into the armrests of your seat during takeoff.

“Oh my God! Flying in the US is SO dangerous!” 21 of the world’s 30 busiest airports are in the US. We also have more planes in the air and more commercial airports than any other country. Does that give you some perspective?

“Oh my God, I shouldn’t fly on a 737!” 737s are perfectly safe, and the largest US airline by passengers carried - Southwest - flies only 737s and has never had an accident that killed a passenger. Also, by passing off fleet size as a fair ratio to fatal accidents, this chart is ignoring that the more important statistic for comparison is miles flown. 747s do a lot of long-haul international flights and have been around for four decades. 15 fatals in 40 years? That’s a pretty good track record if you ask me. Sounds a lot better than saying there’s 52:1 ratio of planes to fatal accidents, which suggests your odds of getting killed on a 747 are about as good as winning a free Big Mac in McDonald’s Monopoly.

“Oh my God, I shouldn’t fly on American or United! They’ve had 7 or more fatal accidents since 1950!” They also rank #1 and #2 in passenger miles flown worldwide. If you carry more passengers more miles, the odds are stacked against you not having a fatal accident at some point. Air Philippines… well, they only fly to nine destinations. So maybe that’s worth worrying about, if you’re planning any domestic travel within the Philippines (which, by the way, doesn’t even show up on the map above).

All this stuff doesn’t help people who are afraid of flying. It only makes them more paranoid when it’s not presented with any perspective.

Once again, I will plug Patrick Smith’s Ask a Pilot column, which will do more to ease the nerves of an anxious flyer more than an attractive in-flight video presenter.