Some may feel that safety in air travel has been shaky as of late, with the DC-plane crash earlier this year, and then the recent one in Louisville on November 4. This was further amplified by the government shutdown and the mass canceling and delaying of flights due to safety concerns.
Before the fatal crash in DC earlier this year, there were no fatalities in commercial accidents in the United States since 2014. This has been the longest period of safety since the beginning of air travel. These two most recent disasters did have warning signs leading up to the disasters, including two near-miss collisions in 2023. The system has been buckling and disasters happen because of this stress
General stress around the airport environment was brought to the public’s attention during the last government shutdown. Air traffic controllers began to mass call in “sick” to avoid working without pay. For those who need the pay, they have had to work second jobs just to make a living.
Despite all this chaos, the National Airspace System, or NAS, is still one of the safest in the world. The previous 10 years with thousands of flights a day speaks to this. These recent accidents are representative of some holes in the system, but the aviation regulation is all about prevention. Already all of the aircraft of the same type as the one that crashed in Louisville have been grounded.
Each accident, no matter how tragic, is a mistake that should not be repeated. The FAA and NTSB work together to find out how to prevent future tragedies. That is how the system today evolved and that is how it will continue to evolve to provide the safest airspace possible.
