Concerns About the Future of Air Travel
Incidents with planes, a coming pilot shortage and a dead man raise questions about air safety
On any given day, there may be 20,000 or more commercial airlines flying planes around the United States. But it’s all pretty safe, right?
As far as major crashes or fatalities, that’s true. But in the past month there have been a few troubling incidents.
• A wheel fell off a United Airlines flight as it took off.
• An American Airlines plane leaving the terminal gate struck a Frontier Airlines plane with its wing.
• A United flight skidded off the runway when it landed.
• A Delta Airlines flight reported a flight control issue but landed safely.
• A United flight had to make an emergency landing because of a hydraulics issue (hydraulics control many of the moving parts on a plane).
• Another United flight reported a hydraulics issue.
• An American plane reported an issue with the flaps on the wing (flaps help a plane fly).
• A panel came off a United plane while in flight.
• A United flight returned to where it took off because of a landing gear issue.
• A Southwest flight returned shortly after takeoff because of an engine issue.
• A Southwest flight reported a flap issue.
• A Delta flight returned shortly after takeoff after losing a panel near the engine.
• Another Southwest flight returned shortly after takeoff because of an engine issue.
• A United flight made an emergency landing because of a flap issue.
• Passengers had to evacuate a Frontier flight because of a smell of smoke in the plane.
• A United plane made an emergency landing because of a mechanical issue.
That seems like a lot for one month, and that didn’t count the reports of cracked windshields, bird strikes and the emergency door that popped off a plane in flight back in January. Fortunately, none of the issues resulted in injuries or even any major problems. And with around 600,000 flights for the month, these issues involved a tiny fraction of a percent of the flights.
But there was another news story in March that could be related to the issues with the commercial planes: John Barnett was found dead in his truck of a single gunshot.
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Barnett had worked for Boeing’s South Carolina plant for seven years and reported his concern that Boeing used defective materials and cut corners to, he alleged, maximize profits. In 2019, he told the New York Times, “I haven’t seen a plane out of Charleston yet that I’d put my name on saying it’s safe and airworthy.”
On Friday, March 8, he had been in a Charleston court giving his deposition in a whistleblower lawsuit he’d filed against Boeing. He was scheduled to return to court the next day to complete his testimony.
But Barnett never gave his testimony because he was found dead in his truck in a hotel parking lot on March 9. Police ruled it was a suicide but there are suspicions it wasn’t. His lawyer reported that he was in a good mood Friday evening, looking forward to wrapping up his case the next day. He had extended his stay at his hotel. And a friend said that he’d made it clear that if he was found dead, it wouldn’t be from suicide.
Are these things related? Not all of the problems in March were on Boeing aircraft, but some were. There are reports from others besides Barnett that Boeing looked the other way when manufacturing problems arose because it would affect the bottom line. It’s likely other aircraft manufacturers might have done the same.
Concerns for the Future of Air Travel
But there are other concerns as well. Even when a plane is manufactured correctly, it is up to each airline to adequately maintain and service it. Airlines, like many other companies, experience labor shortages. That can result in fewer experienced mechanics and maintenance workers, which can lead to lax maintenance. And to save costs, they keep planes flying beyond the recommended limit.
Add to that an imminent pilot shortage – many of the most experienced pilots are 55 or older and nearing retirement without an adequate supply of replacements.
Plus there’s a growing concern that DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – requirements compel companies to choose skin color and gender over qualifications and skills when hiring new employees. That could affect both maintenance and flight. One veteran pilot warned that some of the new recruits perform so poorly that a major disaster is inevitable.
Of course, even with something happening basically every other day in March, that doesn’t mean flying is unsafe. You probably face a greater chance of drowning, and definitely a much greater chance of dying in a car accident. And the events in March may just be one of those anomalies that sometimes bunch random events into a small time-frame that makes them look worse than they are.
But they are worth noting to see if they’re part of a larger trend. Still, I might not be as concerned if not for the suspicious “suicide” of the Boeing whistleblower. That gives all these minor incidents a more ominous tone.