Missing Malaysia Airlines Plane

[ZRod]

MH17 shot down by BUK missile from war-torn Ukraine

AFP 1 hour ago

Gilze-Rijen (Netherlands) (AFP) - Air crash investigators concluded Tuesday that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from war-torn eastern Ukraine last year killing all 298 people on board.LINK

WTH? That doesn't even make sense. I wonder if some yahoo just took a pot shot at it in the sky? Or maybe thought it was a military transport?

If I remember correctly the plane was flying over a no fly zone. Someone probably saw it and figured it was a military plane or a plane delivering weapons or some type of aid.

There wasn't an official no fly zone, but several carriers were avaiiding the area. The US had also told it's domestica carries to avoid Crimea as well.

You are all confusing the planes in question. The OP was about Flight 370, the one shot down over Ukraine was MH17. Needless to say, Malaysian Airlines had a rough 2014.

I'm not confused. We were talking about MH17 because NUaunce posted about it. But, yes, 370 is the one still missing.

 

[Stumpy1]

All of this is why I don't fly.

 

[C N Red]

All of this is why I don't fly.

And why I don't like to fly. But it sure is nice when you get home safe and saved soooo much time not driving. Flying in U.S. doesn't worry me quite as much but anywhere else in the world makes me panic just thinking about it.

 

[ZRod]

All of this is why I don't fly.

This always makes me laugh. Flying is literally the safest form of transportation in this country, and probably one of the safest things you can do period. I always get nervous flying because I'm not in control, I hate not being in control of thing. That said I love the rollercoaster feeling of being scared during turbulence! It takes A LOT to bring those birds down.

 

[Stumpy1]

All of this is why I don't fly.

This always makes me laugh. Flying is literally the safest form of transportation in this country, and probably one of the safest things you can do period. I always get nervous flying because I'm not in control, I hate not being in control of thing. That said I love the rollercoaster feeling of being scared during turbulence! It takes A LOT to bring those birds down.

I have flown 4 times in my life and this is my biggest reason I hate it. I understand that it is the safest way to travel but think of it this way. If you get in a car wreck, you have a 50% chance of living. If you get in a plane crash, you are Texas.

I am actually looking into flying lessons. My boss has a pilot's license and said it helped him tremendously get over the fear of flying. He even bought a small 6 person plane and has said he would take me up and fly but I haven't got the balls for it yet.

 

[84HuskerLaw]

All of this is why I don't fly.

This always makes me laugh. Flying is literally the safest form of transportation in this country, and probably one of the safest things you can do period. I always get nervous flying because I'm not in control, I hate not being in control of thing. That said I love the rollercoaster feeling of being scared during turbulence! It takes A LOT to bring those birds down.

I have flown 4 times in my life and this is my biggest reason I hate it. I understand that it is the safest way to travel but think of it this way. If you get in a car wreck, you have a 50% chance of living. If you get in a plane crash, you are Texas.

I am actually looking into flying lessons. My boss has a pilot's license and said it helped him tremendously get over the fear of flying. He even bought a small 6 person plane and has said he would take me up and fly but I haven't got the balls for it yet.

The problem with flying some of the 'fly by night' airlines such as Malaysian etc. in my opinion is the presumed lack of regular maintenance. Airplanes require tons of technical maintenance, particularly of the small variety, to keep everything in tip top shape. Obviously any kind of simple engine operation problem (electrical, lube, etc) and you have a major problem. Unlike a car on the thighway, you don't just coast to a stop somewhere. You need to be lucky enough to have engine power of some kind as planes don't glide so much as slide to a crashing stop. A dam good pilot might get the plane to the ground right side up! Beyond that, you are just hoping and praying (depending on the problem). If you have a structural problem, then you most likely have even more troubles. There are not very many 'unnecessary' parts on planes as weight is kept to the absolute minimum in order to achieve flight. LOL You don't have any 'extra' wings or flaps or wheels or motors or props or any of those little doo-dads. LOL

But, statistically flying is very safe. I don't subscribe to the notion it is the 'safest' because the only industry that says that is the aviation industry trying to sell you planes and tickets, etc. Everyday, about 100 million Americans get into motor vehicles and travel to work. A few are in crashes or accidents of one sort or another. Billions of people around the world as well. Exactly how one determines which is 'safest' is difficult. Injuries in plane crashes as compared to injuries in car crashes as a percentage is one thing. The risk of death in a plane crash is surely higher than a car crash. Bus ? Train? Boat? Who knows? Numbers crunchers can play games.

 

[ZRod]

No one had died in the US due to a major airline accident for 20 years I think, until that jet missed the runway at SFO. Granted recreational flying doesn't have nearly that kind of record.

Planes don't have a lot of "extras" but there is quite a bit of safety built into them. Every plane has a glide ratio so it will be able to glide to a suitable landing site if it loses power. 757s can glide for almost 100 miles from 33,000 feet. They're pretty damn strong too. For larger commercial planes the wings can flex almost 20 feet before they fail. And if you want just a little more comfort (or maybe not...) planes are designed with a higher safety factor than nuclear power plants...

 

[84HuskerLaw]

No one had died in the US due to a major airline accident for 20 years I think, until that jet missed the runway at SFO. Granted recreational flying doesn't have nearly that kind of record.

Planes don't have a lot of "extras" but there is quite a bit of safety built into them. Every plane has a glide ratio so it will be able to glide to a suitable landing site if it loses power. 757s can glide for almost 100 miles from 33,000 feet. They're pretty damn strong too. For larger commercial planes the wings can flex almost 20 feet before they fail. And if you want just a little more comfort (or maybe not...) planes are designed with a higher safety factor than nuclear power plants...

I am sure 757s can 'glide' from that altitude for about 100 miles but without power they are a nightmare to land. It is not like the fall from the sky like rocks but they problem is you need control of the flight to land safely.