Are you less safe on a 737 MAX than driving to the airport in a car? Genuinely curious, I’m trying to understand if this whole saga is statistically significant.
See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38918665 I didn't bother calculating the rate for driving to the airport, but eyeballing the figures for cars, it's probably as about as dangerous if you assume that the 737 Max were 10x more dangerous than average flying. Cars are still more dangerous than planes on a per-mile basis, but at the same time you're also traveling less miles on the car trip compared to the flight…
Is my plane a 737 MAX?
431–440 of 579 posts
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#432Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#433Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#434I find it puzzling that airlines are still ordering this plane. It's not just us, the customers, who should "vote with their feet", but the airlines, too. I would not buy from a vendor that is not able to have a QA process that makes sure all screws and bolts are in place, fastened and secured. Even if it would not be an airplane where this is critical for safety, even if it would just be a toaster, I would stop buyi…
What choice do they have? If they switch to Airbus they’re going to be waiting until at least 2030. They could buy used but that’s goes against why airlines are ordering new planes to begin with. And that’s not factoring in the maintenance cost in switching manufacturers. Thats why you’ll see airlines be a Boeing or Airbus only fleet.
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#435If you are outraged and want to be more than performative about it, check if your electeds are on the Senate Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation [1] and/or House Aviation Subcommittees [2]. If not, the broader Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation [3] and/or House Transportation & Infrastructure Committees [4]. Call their office (D.C., preferably) or submit a comment noting the issue and your concerns a…
Also I'd contact your favorite airlines and demand that they retire their MAX planes. https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-consumer-...
This isn't happening. Demand would swell well before price cuts made those planes uneconomical.
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#436Earlier quoted context omitted.
>those use actual flight plan data, so will take into account any last minute aircraft changes. But at that point it's too late. I doubt people are that afraid of 737 Max that they'll cancel a flight (and forfeit their ticket) over it.
> But at that point it's too late. I doubt people are that afraid of 737 Max that they'll cancel a flight (and forfeit their ticket) over it. Luckily the airlines I travel with only use Airbus, but if they were using 737 Max, I'd definitely book tickets that I can change at the last minute, and refuse to board if it turns out to be a 737 Max. Yes, that's probably illogical. And probably much of life is illogical. But…
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#437Aviation is safe. An issue happened and appropriate steps have immediately happened and in the end an already incredibly safe industry will be even safer. If a car has an issue we don't blink and we loose nearly 40k people a year in the US alone, but a plane has an issue and we panic. Yes, panic. This is not rational or helpful and is a huge reason why aviation is so antiquated. You want flying cars? Stop panicking a…
About statistics, another nice app based on the same ideas and fears is the Am I Going Down app. It lets you know how often you need to take the trip before you crash and die. [1] https://www.fearofflying.app/
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#438I find it puzzling that airlines are still ordering this plane. It's not just us, the customers, who should "vote with their feet", but the airlines, too. I would not buy from a vendor that is not able to have a QA process that makes sure all screws and bolts are in place, fastened and secured. Even if it would not be an airplane where this is critical for safety, even if it would just be a toaster, I would stop buyi…
pilots unions strongly fight against this for privacy reasons is why.
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#439Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think airlines are a lot more responsible for verifying design flaws in their airplane than I am in my car. First, they are a giant business which has way more resources to do this. Second, they are selling a service. If I was running a US taxi service and bought a fleet of flawed Indian cars that caused crashes, I think I would be partially responsible.
This analogy isn't very convincing to me. Car manufacturing is a regulated industry. When I buy a car in the USA, even for my taxi business, I shouldn't need to hire a team of engineers to verify that it was properly designed and won't spontaneously combust. I should be able to assume that if the car is being legally sold to the public in the USA, the manufacturer has demonstrated that it meets some basic safety requ…
Not that it is relevant to the overall relevance to the aviation argument here, but just in regards to cars in the US -- you often would be held liable for that, depending on which specific liability we are talking about, what the damages are, and in which jurisdiction you are operating in.
Re: Is my plane a 737 MAX?
#440Earlier quoted context omitted.
Multiply all these probabilities together and you have a better chance at winning a billion dollars in a lottery you didn't buy a ticket for.
Yes, if I was a perfectly reasonable and logical robot, I'd agree with you. But I'm a 30+ year old human, with plenty of experiences that "should never have happened" and "that was once in a million odds" that I won't risk it. I'd love it if I could turn off the lizard parts of my body, but I cannot. I try my best, but when it comes to life/death, I just trust my gut over anything else.