Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety

Two leading consumer advocates discuss the problem of airline safety, revealing a system that is endangered by increasing passenger loads, decreased operating budgets, fierce competition, and insufficient regulation. 50,000 first printing. National ad/promo. Tour.

In this important, eye-opening survey of the airline industry, Nader teams up again with his coauthor on Winning the Insurance Game . As a result of the deregulation policies of the Carter administration and the laissez-faire approach of Reagan, the industry is collapsing financially, according to the authors, with only United, American and Delta remaining strong, along with the feeder/commuter lines. But stressing that this is not a book about economics--an integral aspect they by no means neglect--Nader and Smith focus on how deregulation has affected safety. Their findings are sobering: planes of the major airlines are aging and sometimes corners are cut on inspections or repairs. Additionally, airports are increasingly overcrowded, which has an impact on both security and on airplane landings. Then there's the FAA, whose performance is "inadequate." Nader and Smith point out that the FAA is required by an executive order (enacted under Reagan) to conduct a cost/benefit analysis before promulgating safety regulations: i.e., the agency must weigh the expenses of new measures against possible loss of life. Concluding that the level of passenger risk is growing, the authors offer recommendations not only for the industry but also for individuals on making air travel safer. And they warn: "The viability of the entire $25 billion-plus commercial aviation industry depends on there being an almost zero accident rate." Photos not seen by PW . 75,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Or, Unsafe at Any Altitude: a measured, albeit merciless, critique of commercial aviation's safety policies and practices. Drawing on publicly available data, Nader (coauthor, The Big Boys, 1986, etc.) and Smith (Witness to Murder, 1991) make a persuasively documented, often chilling case for the proposition that in many respects flying is not safe enough. More disturbingly, they argue that the level of risk appears to be growing. Going well beyond accident and fatality statistics, the veteran consumer advocates cast a cold eye on the institutional factors that can make life-or-death differences for air travelers. Shortly after takeoff, for instance, they strafe the FAA (a slow-moving bureaucracy charged with promoting commercial aviation as well as air safety) and deregulation (in their view, an ill-advised experiment that has strained the airline industry's finances, tempting it to cut corners). Targeted as well are the deteriorating condition of the US air-traffic-control (ATC) network; the aging of America's jet fleet (now among the world's oldest); airport security; the ongoing use of dangerous (i.e., flammable and/or toxic) materials in passenger cabins; and the failure of federal officials to insist that carriers equip their planes with state-of- the-art systems. The authors' reform agenda calls for at least modified re-regulation that would subject commuter lines to the same safety standards as trunk carriers; eliminate the FAA's dual mandate and make it a genuinely independent agency with a tenured administrator; establish a separation ATC service; and scrap cost/benefit analyses of issues in which lives might be at stake. Mindful that their recommendations are unlikely to be embraced or adopted soon, the authors close with a catalogue of tips on surviving crashes or allied emergencies--and becoming an activist in the cause of air safety. An impressive marshalling of grim fact and outraged opinion. (Twenty illustrations) (First printing of 75,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This book was written to alert the public to discrepancies in the information available about airline safety, the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic control, and the airline industry's equipment. Nader and Smith, two influential consumer advocates, use documented reports, interviews, crash accounts, and other evidence to illustrate these serious concerns. Crashes, near misses, aging planes, governmental red tape, radar, air controllers, and deregulation are a few of the topics covered. The authors point out that safety innovations may be considered after an accident but are generally ignored as preventative measures. This easy-to-comprehend book should frighten or nudge readers into writing their congressional representatives to complain about some of the ancient regulations and laws pertaining to airline safety. For most collections.
- H. Robert Malinowsky, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.