Black Sunday

The safest five-year period in U.S. airline history ended abruptly Sunday morning in Lexington, KY. By now we know the details and several of the theories. It seems to be fact that the Comair flight tried to take off on the wrong (short) runway. The experts are now working to figure out why, and how to make sure it never happens again. I spoke for the International Society of Air Safety Investigators—NTSB is a member—last year, and never met an aviation group that impressed me more. I trust these folks. Accident investigation is something we do well in this country. The truth will out, changes will be made, and airline travel—already the safest means of transportation in the history of the world—will become even safer. For example... In December 1974, TWA Flight 514, cleared for the approach into Dulles, flew into Mount Weather with no survivors. Because of that accident, ATC procedures for clearances were improved greatly, and rare is the serious pilot who has not studied that accident during training. In 1977 a Southern DC-9 left Huntsville, AL for Atlanta, hit severe weather, ingested hail, had a double engine failure and crashed with many fatalities. Most of what you know about radar attenuation dates from that crash. I don’t remember even hearing about attenuation before then. Professional investigators will learn the truth, and we will all benefit from the knowledge. In the meantime, let’s be patient and let them do their work. We'd love to post your comments. Click on the comment box at the top.