After an airplane incident we are always reminded that air travel is so much more safe than ground travel, but the argument that allows some to make these statements is based on Accident Frequency and not overall risk. Think of my Russian Roulette argument I put forth in a previous article and ask yourself…is playing Russian Roulette with .22 caliber pistol more safe than playing with a .44 caliber pistol?
In this video, the larger Airbus plane carries it’s ~82,000 gallons of jet fuel in it’s wings. The tip of the wing that clipped the smaller jet was ripped off, right up to the edge of the fuel tank. See video below and A380 Fuel System Diagram below. It will be interesting to know if this incident was caused because the much larger size of the A380 wing span was not considered when it was put into operation. The wing span of the A380 is nearly 50′ more than the next larger plane the Boeing 747. Some may recall that when the A380 went into service that only a few airports could accept it because of it’s “height” and conflicts with the gate heights. I wonder if an analysis was done on spacing at crossovers on runways. The video makes it appear that the smaller jet was sitting between runways waiting to cross a runway when the larger plane came by and clipped it. Some may try to down play this and tell us how much more safe air travel is vs. ground travel by automobile. I am not going to challenge the statistics, but just remember, playing your next round of Russian Roulette with a .22 caliber is more safe than playing with a .44 caliber. YOUR ODDS do not improve, but your consequences MAY BE less severe, which will actually lower the overall risk.
FINAL thought, when the airline attendant reminds you to STAY BUCKLED UP until the plane has reached the gate and the captain turns off the seatbelt sign, YOU MAY JUST WANT TO FOLLOW this SIMPLE RULE!
This is the wing of the airbus after the accident. Compare this photo with the fuel system image above and note the spot where the tank ends and where this damage ends. Use the flap on the wing and as well as the three (3) protrusions off the back of the wing to match up the images. This is how close we came to dumping ~82,000 gallons of Jet fuel that could have easily burned these planes to the ground and the potentially hundreds of passengers.
UPDATED with NEW data and 2 new photos on 4/27/11 @ 8:35 p.m. EST
