Complacency and the Qantas A330 Accident of 7 October 2008 (audio - MP3)

The accident earlier this month involving a Qantas Airbus A330 on a flight from Singapore to Perth seriously injured several passengers, but didn't result in any fatalities. The event drew substantial news media attention in Australia and Asia, but very little attention from major US media. Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com believes that this may be an example of how when it comes to airline events, it's difficult to get the attention of the US public, or of the policy makers in the US, if no one is killed, especially when there have not been any fatal airline events involving US airlines in over two years. The current 26-month period since the last fatal US event is the longest period without a passenger fatality on a US airliner since airlines in the US first began using jet aircraft in 1958. Dr Curtis suggests that there is always room for improvement, and one way to improve the system is to study the results of accident investigations, including the ongoing Qantas investigation. AirSafe.com provides links to that investigation at http://qantas.airsafe.org.