'Red Arrows' crash this afternoon
 

One aircraft written off in what looks like a landing accident... one parachute seen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-n...wales-43476222

I'm sorry for the engineer and his kin.
Didn't another one crash just a year or so ago?:hmmm:

IIRC that was back in August 2011 but I could be wrong.

Tragic, my thoughts are with the engineers family and friends.

These pilots are so exceptional that flights are considered " routine. " Because of their skill and professionalism, we tend to forget how dangerous flight really is.


Thoughts and condolences to the engineer's family and friends.

Aerobatics might be dangerous if done to the extreme but flight in itself really isn't dangerous at all. Your every day ride in a car is more dangerous.

Only when travelling in cars with a performance rating equal to or faster than 555 knots (1028 km/h) or Mach 0.84.

It is dangerous when you consider how many moving parts must work in unison to achieve flight. If aircraft aren't maintained correctly or something un-forseen happens like a bird strike or something along those lines, you can have a really bad day.


Just ask commercial airlines pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger how hazardous flying can be. He landed his crippled 737 " dead stick " on the Hudson river after bird strikes took out both his engines.


Quote: In 2009, U.S. Airways Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River, saving all 155 people on board.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/captain...ks-movie-ntsb/

Sully of course was not involved in flying acrobatic maneuvers when his airliner went down.

As far as every day rides, we both ride motorcycles which can be dangerous as well but we don't dwell on those dangers or else we wouldn't ride. In this way, any vehicle or aircraft can be dangerous but the risks are manageable. The risks however still exist.


Edit. The aircraft Sullenberger landed on the Hudson was an Airbus 320, not a 737.

I don't want to derail this thread so I'll leave it at that the statistics say that flying is very safe.

Statistically speaking, you are correct that flying is relatively safe and accidents are an infrequent occurrence. It is for precisely that reason that because accidents don't happen often, people tend to forget that flying can be dangerous. To be fair Schroeder, I fly often and feel safe doing so.

By the way Schroeder, you didn't derail the thread. We were just discussing that people often take flying for granted. I know I do as well.

Especially with all those women drivers on the road

Here's a current example of the potential outcome of a mix of both airborne aerobatics and riding/driving in a car.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43494430

Thankfully an extremely rare occurrence.