They say that luck is the residue of design and hard work.
I call BS on that one.
If it's true, then the airline industry has been the luckiest on
the planet, and that luck won't last forever.
As sad as it is to say, and I have written
this before, it's going to take a tragedy among the airlines to spur
governmental or regulatory action. Because right now, it just seems like the
industry is banking on luck and near-misses. From an outsider's view, it
appears that the industry is just watching and hoping that the luck doesn't run
out and that it can get by on close calls.
Just look at what has happened in the last
two weeks.
A Japan Airlines jet collided with a cargo
plane, and nearly 400 people walked away from the commercial plane without a
scratch, which was a miracle if you watched the fiery video footage. Then, a
whole side panel of an Alaska Airlines aircraft blew off, but the pilot was
able to make a successful emergency landing.
It can’t continue this way.
Every time the airline industry dodges a
bullet, it extends its reliance on good fortune instead of tackling any
problems. What do I mean by that? Here's a good example: the industry is
focusing on the good fortune that nobody was sitting in the sea next to the
window of the Alaska Airlines side panel that was blown out instead of
addressing the issue of what happened.
Yes, the FAA has grounded the airplanes in
question, but they are already discussing having them
back in the air as soon as Saturday.
What???
We need better oversight from both within
the industry and from regulatory agencies, but it appears it will take a
tragedy for that to happen.
And that’s too late.
These latest incidents should be a wake-up
call. The question is, do we get out of bed and answer the alarm? Or let it go
on and figure everything will be okay.
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