Re: Rail + Safety Records

[royboy@DELETE_THIS.bit.net.au (Roy Wilke)]

On Fri, 3 Dec 1999 23:35:41 +1100, "trendy rechauffé"
<trendy_rechauffe@start.com.au> wrote:

>

>Aircraft fly greater distances than most other forms of transport per
>journey. 

I should hope so - the prospect of seeing the Queen Elizabeth 2
airborne is rather an alarming one :)

>Most fatalities occur during takeoff and landing. Therefore the
>only relevant comparison is deaths per number of journeys.

Most fatalities in aircraft occur because the aircraft impacted the
ground or the ocean due to factors beyond the pilot's control (eg:
weather, mechanical failure)

>Only motorcycles have a worse safety record than aircraft. 
With respect, this is a comparison of apples with oranges. Very few
motorcycles are capable of carrying 300 passengers.

>Both are far
>worse than motor cars and railways. 

If you lump in all aspects of aviation - from the hobbyist in an
ultralight, through to crop-dusters, private pilots, military
operations, remote-area operations (eg: Papua-New Guinea, Antarctica,
the Siberian permafrost), and all the way through to the 747s in
regular airline service, - you're probably right.

>The airlines wont quote these
>statistics, however Boeing uses deaths per journey figures as they are more
>meaningful.