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The following pictures represent the aftermath of the
worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.
WTC
Pentagon
Pentagon
Somerset, PA
The following pictures represent the aftermath of human
error.
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On September 11, 2001...
Four terrorists hijacked United Airlines flight 93,
which departed Newark and was destined for San Francisco. The plane crashed
in Somerset, Pennsylvania killing all 45 persons on board. The intended
target of that hijacked plane may never be known, but it is believed that it
was bound for the White House. It is important to point out that due to the
bravery of the passengers in overpowering the hijackers on that doomed
flight, the aircraft was prevented from being used as a missile.
Five terrorists hijacked American Airlines flight 77, which
departed Washington Dulles Airport and was destined for Los Angeles. The
plane was flown directly into the Pentagon. A total of 189 persons were
killed, including all who were onboard the plane.
Five terrorists hijacked American
Airlines Flight 11, which
departed Boston and was destined for Los Angeles. The plane was flown
directly into the north tower of the World Trade Center. On board the
aircraft were 81 passengers, nine flight attendants, and the two pilots.
Five terrorists hijacked United Airlines Flight 175, which departed
Boston and was destined for Los Angeles. The plane was flown directly into
the south tower of the World Trade Center. On board the aircraft were 56
passengers, seven flight attendants, and the two pilots.
In the end, more than 3000 persons were killed in these four
heinous attacks. I'm sure that each and every one of us has thought about
what it must have been like for those passengers in their final moments on
each of those four ill-fated airliners on September 11th, 2001.Thousands of innocent lives were lost because of fanatic
martyrs who believe in some sort of a fantasyland after-life. Unlike
hijackers of the past, there are no demands to be met or negotiations to be
had. These people have only one motive; to kill as many Americans as
possible and be willing to die for the cause. That is scary.
Thanks to 9/11, and for the
foreseeable future, passengers will board commercial airliners with a
newfound type of anxiety. After all, our domestic security was breached and
our air transportation system was violated. We can't help but wonder if the
passenger sitting next to us has been properly screened and is not armed
with a box cutter, knife, or other weapon with the explicit intent to harm
Americans. Things are different today, that's for sure.
In
the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, we have stepped-up security at airports
and have become extra vigilant for suspicious activities in our aviation
environment (as well as other high-risk environments). Today, when boarding
an aircraft, the average passenger fears a hijacking more than any other
element of flight. However, if we put we things in perspective,
an airline passenger has at least a 100 percent higher risk of being seriously injured or
killed by human error than by terrorist activity. Therefore, the gist of
this article is not about terrorism, per se, but how serious the
consequences can be when human error is left unchecked.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT:
That by which we have physical or mental control to recognize, change,
prevent, or mitigate a situation. Approximately 80 percent of all air
crashes fall into this category. While the previous definition called it
"pilot error," the term has been changed to "human error" to more
realistically reflect that anybody who acts in a support capacity of a
flight may contribute to the error chain. Not just the pilot. Of the
previously cited 80 percent, the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)
further breaks down human errors into the following categories:
NTSB
HUMAN ERROR CHART
|
Unprofessional Attitudes |
47% |
| Visual Perception
Misjudgment |
19% |
| Pilot Technique |
21% |
| Inflight Judgment or
Decision |
5% |
| Improper Operation of
Equip. |
6% |
| Unknown Causes |
4% |
Continuing with statistical data, the following two tables depict the causes
of accidents (in percent) from the 1950's through the 1990's. Note that
"pilot error" has, and still does, account for the highest percentage of
accidents.
|
Accident Causes by Category (pct) |
|
Cause |
1950s |
1960s |
1970s |
1980s |
1990s |
Total |
| Pilot Er |
41 |
34 |
27 |
28 |
27 |
31 |
| Pilot Er (weather rel.) |
9 |
17 |
14 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
| Pilot Er (Mech. rel.) |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| TTL Pilot Er |
56 |
56 |
45 |
46 |
45 |
49 |
| Other Human Er |
2 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
| Weather |
16 |
11 |
15 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
| Mech. Failure |
20 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
24 |
21 |
| Sabotage |
5 |
4 |
11 |
13 |
8 |
8 |
| Other Cause |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
NOTE: The tables above and below
are compiled from the PlaneCrashInfo.com accident database,
representing 1,834 accidents from 1950 thru 1999. The table above
uses 1,286 accidents where a cause can be identified and excludes
accidents where a cause could not be determined. The table below
includes all 1,834 accidents including those where a cause could not be
identified.
"Pilot error (weather related)" represents accidents in which pilot
error was involved but brought about by weather related phenomena.
"Pilot error (Mech. related)" represents accidents in which pilot
error was involved but brought about by Mech. failure. "Other
human error" includes air traffic controller error, improper loading of
aircraft, fuel contamination, improper maintenance etc. Sabotage
includes explosive devices, shoot downs and hijackings. "Total pilot
error" is the total for all types of pilot error (on the fourth line in
yellow). Where there were multiple causes, the most prominent cause was
used.
|
Accident Causes by Category (percent) |
|
Cause |
1950s |
1960s |
1970s |
1980s |
1990s |
Total |
| Pilot Err |
27 |
24 |
18 |
21 |
20 |
22 |
| Pilot (weather rel.) |
6 |
12 |
9 |
11 |
11 |
10 |
| Pilot Err (Mech. rel.) |
4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
| TTL Pilot Err |
37 |
39 |
30 |
34 |
34 |
35 |
| Other Human Er |
2 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
| Weather |
10 |
7 |
9 |
11 |
11 |
10 |
| Mech. Failure |
13 |
14 |
12 |
15 |
18 |
14 |
| Sabotage |
3 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
| Other Cause |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Undeter.
or missing |
34 |
30 |
36 |
25 |
24 |
30 |
|
Odds of being on an airline
flight which results in at least one fatality |
Top 25 airlines with the best records
1 in 4.2 million |
Bottom 25 airlines with the worst records
1 in 186,000 |
|
Odds of being killed on a
single airline flight |
Top 25 airlines with the best records
1 in 12.4 million |
Bottom 25 airlines with the worst records
1 in 251,000 |
Source:
BACK Associates and PlaneCrashInfo.com
accident database, 1980 - 1999
|
Mortality Risk by Type of Scheduled Service
1987 - 1996 |
|
Advanced-world1
domestic jet |
1 in 8 million |
|
U.S. Commuter2 |
1 in 2 million |
|
Developing-world3
domestic jet |
1 in 500,000 |
|
International jet within advanced-world |
1 in 5 million |
|
International jet between advanced-world and developing-world |
1 in 600,000 |
|
International jet within developing-world |
1 in 400,000 |
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1. Advanced-world air carriers have home offices in economically
advanced, technologically advanced and politically democratic countries
(Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the
United States and the United Kingdom).
2 Includes service by reciprocating-engine aircraft and turboprop
aircraft.
3. Developing-world air
carriers have home offices in countries other than those countries
categorized for the purposes of this study as economically advanced,
technologically advanced and politically democratic.
Source:
Arnold Barnett and Alexander Wang, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology |
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