Three crashes in almost a week: while one was a missile strike, two were crashes due to bad weather conditions that took many lives. So, is air travel becoming very unsafe?
Technology writer and aviation enthusiast Prashanto K Roy said it is scary to see the mass of flights today. "It is very surprising that there are no more near-misses. Air travel is a high density, scary phenomenon today."
Roy was participating in the discussion "Air Travel: Fresh Cause For Worry?" on BoomNews's show #IndiaHangout with Saroj Datta, former executive director, Jet Airways, Devesh Agarwal, Editor, Bangalore Aviation and Subash Goyal, chairman (Aviation & Tourism Committee), Indian Chamber of Commerce.
Agarwal said this year is an aberration for the aviation industry. "And each time an accident occurs, it becomes an international learning event."
He added that Malaysian Airlines, which was involved in two incidents, cannot be held responsible for the events. "Why should airlines not trust agencies that are responsible for air safety? Malaysian Airlines, unfortunately, was at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Goyal said while passengers are a worried lot, it is time for manufacturers and organisations to come up with solutions.
Datta was of the opinion that may be delays could have avoided crashes. "And route change could have avoided the Air Algerie crash."
Agarwal said the bigger worry for the airline industry has to be the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. "We don't even know what happened to MH370. The MH 370 accident is very crucial to solve for airline safety."
Roy, too, felt that the maximum number of corrections can be done if we know what happened to MH370.
While Goyal said there has to be international standards for pilots to avoid risks, Roy said the industry learns from each and every disaster. And Agarwal concluded by saying: "Airways is still the safest mode of travel."
