No 2007 deaths on scheduled U.S. airlines (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- No one died during 2007 in accidents among larger scheduled U.S. airlines and smaller commuter aircraft, and deaths in private plane accidents dropped to 491, their lowest total in more than 40 years, the government reported Wednesday.

But on-demand aircraft -- charters, air taxis and tours, and medical flights with a patient aboard -- saw accident deaths jump from 16 in 2006 to 43 in 2007, according to preliminary annual figures from the National Transportation Safety Board.

As hundreds of thousands of air travelers learned last week the number of fatal accidents is not the only measure of air safety. Last week, American Airlines alone canceled nearly 3,100 flights affecting 250,000 passengers as the Federal Aviation Administration forced it to inspect wiring in its Boeing MD-80 jets. Alaska Airlines, Midwest Airlines and Delta also canceled flights for similar inspections.

The FAA was finally insisting on compliance with a September 5, 2006 order that it had given airlines 18 months to obey. The tougher FAA stance followed the revelation last month that the agency's lax enforcement of its own safety rules had allowed Southwest Airlines to fly dozens of its Boeing 737s without inspecting them as required for cracks in the fuselage.
***
The government figures showed that scheduled U.S. airlines flew 18.7 million hours in 2007 with 24 accidents, but no deaths. There was one fatality among nonscheduled U.S. carriers: A mechanic was fatally injured while working on a Sky King Inc. Boeing 737 in Tunica, Mississippi, on July 10, 2007.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/04/16/air.accidents.ap/index.html

Enough airlines have gone out of business that it should be easy to match that record in 2008.

[yellerpup]

1. Before R Reagan no airline fatalities were the norm.

Then he busted up the Air Traffic Controllers union and things began to change. Glad no one died on a commercial flight last year, but that used to be the standard before 1982.

[tjwash]

2. That American Airlines debacle was horrible.

I was connecting through Dallas, and there were people stranded in the airport for days. Luckily I fly a different airline, but damn...that could have happened to any of us.

I can't recall if AA is one of the airlines outsourcing their maintenance mechanics to Taiwan.