Of course, we know logically that these pilots go through flight school and extensive training, not to mention all the radar and air traffic control. But seriously, it's crazy to think that a couple of regular humans are maneuvering a giant metal tube through the sky.
Then the other question pops into my head: where I wonder, "How do these planes not run into each other?" Just like when you drive on the road, it's bound to happen that one vehicle will collide with another. While the skies are not nearly as clogged up as our roads, surely it must be a possibility that planes cross paths every now and then.
Well, turns out they do, and FAA reports reveal that planes are nearly colliding into one another on a weekly basis.
From Gizmodo:
A terrifying new report from the New York Times claims that “near collisions” involving commercial airliners are basically a weekly occurrence in America. The Times report draws on extensive records sourced from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as a little known NASA database that holds “safety reports” filed by pilots and air traffic controllers. Altogether, the documents reveal that planes from “all major U.S. airlines” suffer “near misses”—i.e., they almost crash into each other—pretty much all the fucking time.
The Times analysis shows that such “close calls” are happening multiple times a week—and that there were 46 such incidents reported last month alone. During the most recent 12-month period where data was available, reporters found that there were roughly 300 reported “near collision” incidents involving major airlines, some of which were avoided only via last second maneuvering.
The concrete details of some of these incidents are laid bare in the Times reporting—and are probably enough to make some readers swear off air travel for the rest of their natural lives. A vast majority of the incidents are said to be the result of pilot or air traffic controller error, and many of them happen in and around airports during take off or landing, the Times reports.
In one incident that recently occurred in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an air traffic controller accidentally cleared a Delta jet to approach the airport for landing, which put it on a collision course with a Spirit airlines flight that had also been cleared to land. In another incident at New Orleans International Airport, an incoming Southwest flight nearly collided with a Delta flight that was in the process of taking off. The stories go on and on.
Well, I don't know about you, but this new report has certainly unlocked a new fear.
There is apparently a significant staffing shortage with air control agents, and as a result, they're often overworked and fatigued.
Of course, staff shortages are common all over the country in just about every job field, so this isn't a huge surprise. But it's something our government should surely be taking more action to fix.
