I can’t help noticing that our accident rate seems to have taken a nosedive recently (for first-quarter statistics from safety analyst Bob Breiling, see page 6), along with several unfortunate aircraft. It is still too early to tell, of course. But it’s never too early to sit up and pay attention. Any spike could be just a fluke or the beginning of a trend. I’d rather sound the alarm early and be wrong than wait for a disastrous trend to take hold.
My concern is that the fallout from the economic slump is playing out in the cockpits and hangars of our aircraft fleets. Could economics be driving cockpit distractions or the skipping of maintenance procedures or the use of less qualified crews (and I don’t mean the amazing US Airways crew that landed on the Hudson)? Are aircraft being overloaded to save time and money or in the mistaken belief that getting a passenger to his destination trumps the safety rules?
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