Low Cost, Low Safety

Deregulation of the air industry certainly made flying to holiday and vacation destinations a whole lot more affordable for a whole lot more people. That's the democratization of flight, one can only suppose. Anyone with modest means can now flit about the world to gawk and enjoy geographies other than those most familiar to them. Well of course they can fly to and from destinations in their own countries as well, needless to say. It's simply more functionally commonplace now, now that fares are so low.

And think about the airline industry anyway, the prestige, glamour and excitement of being an airline pilot, a stewardess, the opportunity to gad about, seeing other places - just so wonderful. Talk about opportunities, having a dream vocation along with a well-paying job, one that is highly respected in society, requiring an acute level of training to acquire that coveted pilot's license. Think of the responsibility, all those lives dependent on the pilot's flying skills honed by years of flight experience.

Or maybe not. That, perhaps, was how it was at one time. And no longer is. Abusive drunks assailing the sensibilities of other passengers, the stewardesses futilely attempting to quiet them down, assuage their aggressive tendencies. But the experiences of going to exotic places, the pay scale, the social esteem, the prestige, more than makes up for minor inconveniences. Everyone looks up to and admires those talented and fearless pilots.

That's popular perception, anyway. Reality is more like airlines desperately undercutting one another for a finite and economy-shrunk cartage of passengers. Long working hours, long commutes for pilots to even get to their flight-takeoff destinations, low pay, inexperience and fatigue are more like the reality of today. And that reality is being unveiled at an enquiry into the deadly February crash of a commuter plane near Buffalo, N.Y.

Investigators into the tragedy now know that Colgan Air pilots often live hundreds or thousands of kilometres from crew base. The night before the crash in Buffalo of that commuter plane first officer Rebecca Shaw, all of 24 years, who had worked for the airline for a year, left her home with her parents near Seattle to commute to her job at Colgan's operation in Newark, N.J.

Co-pilot, Captain Marvin Reslow, who lives in Lutz, Florida also made his way the day before the flight, to crew base. Both of the pilots napped in the crew lounge overnight. And both were heard on the cockpit voice recorder after the disaster, yawning during the flight. Pilot Shaw was feeling ill with a congested condition due to a cold.

As the Bombardier Dash 8 - a craft neither had full experience flying - plummeted to the ground during approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport because the captain's reaction to a swift deceleration was incorrect - due to fatigue, inexperience and inattention - all 49 people on board were killed, along with one unfortunate on the ground.

It took 34 seconds for catastrophe to rear its ugly head.

First officer Shaw was earning about $16,254 annually. Cashiers at supermarkets earn better than that, and they are not flight experts, nor charged with the safety of an aircraft and its passengers. Captain Renslow, when he applied for a position with Colgan, somehow overlooked a requirement to disclose he had failed two flight tests in small planes. Due diligence obviously absent.

But flight is cheap - personnel salaries, anyway, even if fuel isn't - and most manage to arrive at their destination sound and safe. Miracles happen more often than we might realize.